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It may have been superseded by another publication (indicated below).

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NIST SP 800-161
Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal Information Systems andOrganizations
April 2015
May 5, 2022
NIST SP 800-161 is superseded in its entirety by the publication of NIST SP 800161r1.

Superseding Publication(s) (if applicable)
The attached publication has been superseded by the following publication(s):Series/Number
Title
Author(s)Publication Date(s)URL/DOINIST SP 800-161r1
Cybersecurity Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Systems andOrganizations
Jon Boyens; Angela Smith; Nadya Bartol; Kris Winkler; Alex Holbrook; Matthew
FallonMay 2022
https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-161r1

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Computer Security Division (Information Technology Laboratory)• https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-161/rev-1/final• https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/cyber-supply-chain-risk-management• https://www.nist.gov/itl/executive-order-improving-nationscybersecurity/software-supply-chain-security

Date updated: May 5, 2022

NIST Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management
Practices for Federal Information
Systems and Organizations
Jon Boyens
Celia Paulsen
Rama Moorthy
Nadya Bartol

This publication is available free of charge from:http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-161

COMPUTERCOMPUTERSECURITYCOMPUTERSECURITYCOMPUTERSECURITY

SECURITYNIST Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management
Practices for Federal Information
Systems and Organizations
Jon Boyens
Celia Paulsen
Computer Security Division
Information Technology Laboratory
Rama Moorthy
Hatha Systems
Washington, D.C.
Nadya Bartol
Utilities Telecom Council
Washington, D.C.

This publication is available free of charge from:http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-161
April 2015

U.S. Department of Commerce
Penny Pritzker, Secretary
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Willie May, Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Acting Director

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Authority
This publication has been developed by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in
accordance with its statutory responsibilities under the Federal Information Security Modernization
Act (FISMA) of 2014, 44 U.S.C. § 3541 et seq., Public Law 113-283. NIST is responsible fordeveloping information security standards and guidelines, including minimum requirements for federal
information systems, but such standards and guidelines shall not apply to national security systems
without the express approval of appropriate federal officials exercising policy authority over such
systems. This guideline is consistent with the requirements of the Office of Management and Budget(OMB) Circular A-130, Section 8b(3), Securing Agency Information Systems, as analyzed in Circular
A-130, Appendix IV: Analysis of Key Sections. Supplemental information is provided in Circular
A-130, Appendix III, Security of Federal Automated Information Resources.
Nothing in this publication should be taken to contradict the standards and guidelines made mandatory
and binding on federal agencies by the Secretary of Commerce under statutory authority. Nor should
these guidelines be interpreted as altering or superseding the existing authorities of the Secretary ofCommerce, Director of the OMB, or any other federal official. This publication may be used bynongovernmental organizations on a voluntary basis and is not subject to copyright in the United States.
Attribution would, however, be appreciated by NIST.
National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-161
Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol. Spec. Publ. 800-161, 282 pages (April 2015)
CODEN: NSPUE2This publication is available free of charge from:http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-161
Certain commercial entities, equipment, or materials may be identified in this document in order to describe an
experimental procedure or concept adequately. Such identification is not intended to imply recommendation or
endorsement by NIST, nor is it intended to imply that the entities, materials, or equipment are necessarily thebest available for the purpose.
There may be references in this publication to other publications currently under development by NIST in
accordance with its assigned statutory responsibilities. The information in this publication, including concepts
and methodologies, may be used by federal agencies even before the completion of such companion
publications. Thus, until each publication is completed, current requirements, guidelines, and procedures, where
they exist, remain operative. For planning and transition purposes, federal agencies may wish to closely follow
the development of these new publications by NIST.
Organizations are encouraged to review all draft publications during public comment periods and provide
feedback to NIST. All NIST Computer Security Division publications, other than the ones noted above, areavailable at http://csrc.nist.gov/publications.

National Institute of Standards and Technology
Attn: Computer Security Division, Information Technology Laboratory
100 Bureau Drive (Mail Stop 8930) Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8930
Email: scrm-nist@nist.gov

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Reports on Computer Systems Technology
The Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST) promotes the U.S. economy and public welfare by providing technical leadership for the Nation’s
measurement and standards infrastructure. ITL develops tests, test methods, reference data, proof ofconcept implementations, and technical analyses to advance the development and productive use of
information technology. ITL’s responsibilities include the development of management, administrative,
technical, and physical standards and guidelines for the cost-effective security and privacy of other thannational security-related information in federal information systems. The Special Publication 800-series
reports on ITL’s research, guidelines, and outreach efforts in information system security, and its
collaborative activities with industry, government, and academic organizations.

Abstract
Federal agencies are concerned about the risks associated with information and communications
technology (ICT) products and services that may contain potentially malicious functionality, arecounterfeit, or are vulnerable due to poor manufacturing and development practices within the ICT supply
chain. These risks are associated with the federal agencies’ decreased visibility into, understanding of,and control over how the technology that they acquire is developed, integrated and deployed, as well as
the processes, procedures, and practices used to assure the integrity, security, resilience, and quality of the
products and services.
This publication provides guidance to federal agencies on identifying, assessing, and mitigating ICT
supply chain risks at all levels of their organizations. The publication integrates ICT supply chain risk
management (SCRM) into federal agency risk management activities by applying a multitiered, SCRMspecific approach, including guidance on assessing supply chain risk and applying mitigation activities.

Keywords
Acquire; Information and Communication Technology Supply Chain Risk Management; ICT SCRM; risk
management; supplier; supply chain; supply chain assurance; supply chain risk; supply chain risk
assessment; supply chain security

Acknowledgements
The authors, Jon Boyens, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Celia Paulsen (NIST),
Rama Moorthy (Hatha Systems), and Nadya Bartol (Utilities Telecom Council), would like toacknowledge and thank the ICT SCRM community, which has provided the authors invaluable insightand diverse perspectives to managing the ICT supply chain. We would especially like to thank Kelly
Dempsey (NIST), Dr. Ron Ross (NIST), and Stephanie Shankles (Booz Allen Hamilton) for theircontribution to the content during the document development and review. We would also like to thanknumerous reviewers within the information technology community who took the time to provide valuable
feedback and comments to the public drafts. Finally, we would like to thank the participants of NIST’s
October 2012 ICT SCRM Workshop for providing the guiding foundation to the approach thispublication has taken.

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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 PURPOSE ........................................................................................................................................................ 2
1.2 SCOPE 2
1.3 TARGET AUDIENCE......................................................................................................................................... 3
1.4 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................... 3
1.4.1 Federal Agencies ICT Supply Chain .................................................................................................... 4
1.4.2 ICT Supply Chain Risk ......................................................................................................................... 7
1.4.3 Federal Agency Relationships with System Integrators, Suppliers, and External Service Providers .. 8
1.5 FOUNDATIONAL PRACTICES ........................................................................................................................ 10
1.6 RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROGRAMS AND PUBLICATIONS ........................................................................ 11
1.7 METHODOLOGY FOR BUILDING ICT SCRM GUIDANCE USING SP 800-39 AND NIST SP 800-53 REVISION 4.. 13
1.7.1 Integration into Risk Management Process .................................................................................... 13
1.7.2 Enhanced ICT SCRM Overlay ........................................................................................................... 14
1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THIS SPECIAL PUBLICATION .......................................................................................... 14
INTEGRATION OF ICT SCRM INTO ORGANIZATION-WIDE RISK MANAGEMENT .................................................... 16
2.1 MULTITIERED RISK MANAGEMENT.............................................................................................................. 17
2.1.1 TIER 1 – ORGANIZATION ................................................................................................................. 19
2.1.2 TIER 2 – MISSION/BUSINESS PROCESS ............................................................................................ 20
2.1.3 TIER 3 – INFORMATION SYSTEMS ................................................................................................... 21
2.2 ICT SCRM ACTIVITIES IN RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS ............................................................................... 21
2.2.1
2.2.2
2.2.3
2.2.4

FRAME ............................................................................................................................................. 23
ASSESS ............................................................................................................................................. 33
RESPOND ......................................................................................................................................... 41
MONITOR ........................................................................................................................................ 45

ICT SCRM CONTROLS ........................................................................................................................................... 49
3.1 ICT SCRM CONTROLS SUMMARY ................................................................................................................. 49
3.2 ICT SCRM CONTROLS THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION........................................................................... 50
3.3 APPLYING ICT SCRM CONTROLS TO ACQUIRING ICT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES .......................................... 50
3.3.1 System Integrators .......................................................................................................................... 51
3.3.2 Suppliers .......................................................................................................................................... 51
3.3.3 External Providers of Information System Services ......................................................................... 52
3.4 SELECTING AND TAILORING IMPLEMENTING ICT SCRM SECURITY CONTROLS ............................................ 52
3.4.1 ICT SCRM Control Format ................................................................................................................ 52
3.4.2 Using ICT SCRM Controls in This Publication ................................................................................... 53
3.5 ICT SCRM SECURITY CONTROLS ................................................................................................................... 55
FAMILY: ACCESS CONTROL .......................................................................................................................... 55
FAMILY: AWARENESS AND TRAINING ......................................................................................................... 60
FAMILY: AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY ....................................................................................................... 62

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Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: SECURITY ASSESSMENT AND AUTHORIZATION ............................................................................. 65
FAMILY: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................. 68
FAMILY: CONTINGENCY PLANNING ............................................................................................................. 74
FAMILY: IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION ...................................................................................... 77
FAMILY: INCIDENT RESPONSE...................................................................................................................... 79
FAMILY: MAINTENANCE .............................................................................................................................. 81
FAMILY: MEDIA PROTECTION ...................................................................................................................... 85
FAMILY: PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ............................................................................ 86
FAMILY: PLANNING...................................................................................................................................... 88
FAMILY: PROGRAM MANAGEMENT ............................................................................................................ 90
FAMILY: PERSONNEL SECURITY ................................................................................................................... 92
FAMILY: PROVENANCE ................................................................................................................................ 94
FAMILY: RISK ASSESSMENT .......................................................................................................................... 97
FAMILY: SYSTEM AND SERVICES ACQUISITION ............................................................................................ 98
FAMILY: SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTION ......................................................................... 110
FAMILY: SYSTEM AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY ..................................................................................... 115
ICT SCRM CONTROL SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................. 1
NIST SP 800-53 ICT SCRM-RELEVANT CONTROLS.................................................................................................... 1
FAMILY: ACCESS CONTROL ............................................................................................................................ 1
FAMILY: AWARENESS AND TRAINING ......................................................................................................... 12
FAMILY: AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY ....................................................................................................... 14
FAMILY: SECURITY ASSESSMENT AND AUTHORIZATION ............................................................................. 19
FAMILY: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................. 25
FAMILY: CONTINGENCY PLANNING ............................................................................................................. 35
FAMILY: IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION ...................................................................................... 40
FAMILY: INCIDENT RESPONSE...................................................................................................................... 44
FAMILY: MAINTENANCE .............................................................................................................................. 47
FAMILY: MEDIA PROTECTION ...................................................................................................................... 52
FAMILY: PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ............................................................................ 54
FAMILY: PLANNING...................................................................................................................................... 58
FAMILY: PROGRAM MANAGEMENT ............................................................................................................ 61
FAMILY: PERSONNEL SECURITY ................................................................................................................... 64
FAMILY: RISK ASSESSMENT .......................................................................................................................... 66
FAMILY: SYSTEM AND SERVICES ACQUISITION ............................................................................................ 69
FAMILY: SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTION ........................................................................... 88
FAMILY: SYSTEM AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY ....................................................................................... 96
ICT SUPPLY CHAIN THREAT EVENTS ....................................................................................................................... 1
SUPPLY CHAIN THREAT SCENARIOS AND ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK ......................................................................... 1
DEVELOPING AND ANALYZING THREAT SCENARIOS & IDENTIFYING APPLICABLE CONTROLS ................................ 2
SAMPLE SCENARIOS................................................................................................................................................ 5
SCENARIO 1: Telecommunications Counterfeits ............................................................................................ 5
SCENARIO 2: Industrial Espionage ................................................................................................................. 9
SCENARIO 3: Malicious Code Insertion ........................................................................................................ 13
SCENARIO 4: Unintentional Compromise .................................................................................................... 16
ICT SCRM PLAN TEMPLATE .................................................................................................................................... 1
1

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 4

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2

1.1
Purpose and Scope ............................................................................................................................ 4
1.2
Authority ........................................................................................................................................... 4
1.3
Audience............................................................................................................................................ 4
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ....................................................................................................................... 5

3

2.1
Responsibility for the plan ................................................................................................................. 5
2.2
Key Contributors ................................................................................................................................ 5
ICT SCRM CONTROLS ..................................................................................................................................... 5

4

USING AND REVISING ICT SCRM PLAN ........................................................................................................... 5

4.1
Communicating ICT SCRM Plan ......................................................................................................... 6
4.2
Revision and Improvement................................................................................................................ 6
4.3 Implementing and Assessing Effectiveness of ICT SCRM Plans ................................................................ 6
4.4
Use of ICT SCRM Plan during Contingencies and Emergencies ......................................................... 8
ATTACHMENTS ....................................................................................................................................................... 8
GLOSSARY .............................................................................................................................................................. 1
ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................................................................ 1
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................................... 1

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List of Figures and Tables
FIGURE 1-1: FOUR PILLARS OF ICT SCRM ....................................................................................................................... 4
FIGURE 1-2: FEDERAL AGENCY RELATIONSHIPS WITH SYSTEM INTEGRATORS, SUPPLIERS, AND EXTERNAL SERVICE PROVIDERS WITHRESPECT TO THE SCOPE OF NIST SP 800-161. ........................................................................................................ 5
FIGURE 1-3: ICT SUPPLY CHAIN RISK .............................................................................................................................. 7
FIGURE 1-4: AN ORGANIZATION’S VISIBILITY, UNDERSTANDING, AND CONTROL OF ITS ICT SUPPLY CHAINS ................................. 8
FIGURE 1-5: ICT SCRM SECURITY CONTROLS IN NIST SP 800-161, CHAPTER 3.5 .............................................................. 14
FIGURE 2-1: RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS .................................................................................................................... 16
FIGURE 2-2: MULTITIERED ORGANIZATION-WIDE RISK MANAGEMENT ................................................................................ 18
FIGURE 2-3: ICT SCRM RISK MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................................. 22
FIGURE 2-4: ICT SCRM ACTIVITIES IN RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS.................................................................................. 23
FIGURE 2-5: ICT SCRM IN THE FRAME STEP .................................................................................................................. 25
FIGURE 2-6: ICT SCRM IN THE ASSESS STEP .................................................................................................................. 34
FIGURE 2-7: ICT SCRM IN THE RESPOND STEP............................................................................................................... 41
FIGURE 2-8: ICT SCRM IN THE MONITOR STEP .............................................................................................................. 46
FIGURE 3-1: ICT SCRM SECURITY CONTROLS IN NIST SP 800-161, CHAPTER 3.5 .............................................................. 50
FIGURE D-1: SAMPLE THREAT SCENARIO ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK ..................................................................................... D-4
FIGURE E-1: ISO/IEC 15288 LIFE CYCLE PROCESSES ..................................................................................................... E-1
FIGURE E-2: ICT SCRM PLAN AND LIFE CYCLES ............................................................................................................. E-2
FIGURE E-3: AGENCY IMPLEMENTATION OF ICT SCRM PLAN ........................................................................................... E-7

TABLE 2-1: SUPPLY CHAIN RISK MANAGEMENT STAKEHOLDERS ......................................................................................... 19
TABLE 2-2: EXAMPLES OF ICT SUPPLY CHAIN THREAT AGENTS .......................................................................................... 27
TABLE 2-3: SUPPLY CHAIN THREAT CONSIDERATIONS....................................................................................................... 28
TABLE 2-4: SUPPLY CHAIN VULNERABILITY CONSIDERATIONS............................................................................................. 29
TABLE 2-5: SUPPLY CHAIN CONSTRAINTS ....................................................................................................................... 31
TABLE 2-6: EXAMPLES OF ICT SUPPLY CHAIN VULNERABILITIES MAPPED TO THE ORGANIZATIONAL TIERS .................................. 38
TABLE 2-7: ICT SCRM PLAN CONTROLS AT TIERS 1, 2, AND 3 .......................................................................................... 45
TABLE 3-2: ICT SCRM CONTROL FORMAT .................................................................................................................... 53
TABLE A-1: ICT SCRM CONTROL SUMMARY ............................................................................................................... A-1
TABLE C-1: ADVERSARIAL ICT SUPPLY CHAIN THREAT EVENTS ......................................................................................... C-1
TABLE C-2: NON-ADVERSARIAL ICT SUPPLY CHAIN THREAT EVENTS ................................................................................. C-6

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
nformation and Communications Technology (ICT) relies on a complex, globally distributed, andinterconnected supply chain ecosystem that is long, has geographically diverse routes, and consists ofmultiple tiers of outsourcing. This ecosystem is composed of public and private sector entities (e.g.,acquirers, system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers) and technology, law, policy,
procedures, and practices that interact to design, manufacture, distribute, deploy, and use ICT products
and services. This ecosystem has evolved to provide a set of highly refined, cost-effective, reusable ICT
solutions. Federal government information systems1 have rapidly adopted this ecosystem of solution
options, which has increased their reliance on commercially available products, system integrator support
for custom-built systems, and external service providers. This in turn has resulted in increased
complexity, diversity, and scale of the federal government’s ICT supply chains.

I

Commercially available ICT solutions present significant benefits including low cost, interoperability,
rapid innovation, a variety of product features, and choice among competing vendors. These commercial
off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions can be proprietary or open source and can meet the needs of a global baseof public and private sector customers. However, the same globalization and other factors that allow forsuch benefits also increase the risk of a threat event which can directly or indirectly affect the ICT supply
chain, often undetected, and in a manner that may result in risks to the end user.
These ICT supply chain risks may include insertion of counterfeits, unauthorized production, tampering,theft, insertion of malicious software and hardware, as well as poor manufacturing and development
practices in the ICT supply chain. These risks are associated with an organization’s decreased visibility
into, and understanding of, how the technology that they acquire is developed, integrated, and deployed,
as well as the processes, procedures, and practices used to assure the integrity, security, resilience, andquality of the products and services.2 Threats and vulnerabilities created by malicious actors (individuals,organizations, or nation states) are often especially sophisticated and difficult to detect, and thus provide asignificant risk to organizations. It should be noted that ICT products (including libraries, frameworks,
and toolkits) or services originating anywhere (domestically or abroad) might contain vulnerabilities that1

An information system is a discrete set of information resources organized expressly for the collection, processing,maintenance, use, sharing, dissemination, or disposition of information. Information systems also include specialized systems
such as industrial/process controls systems, telephone switching/private branch exchange (PBX) systems, and environmental
control systems.[NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4]
2This document adapts the definition of risk from [FIPS 200] to establish a definition for ICT supply chain risk as follows:
Risks that arise from the loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability of information or information systems andreflect the potential adverse impacts to organizational operations (including mission, functions, image, or reputation),organizational assets, individuals, other organizations, and the Nation.

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can present opportunities for ICT supply chain compromises.3 For example, an adversary may have thepower to insert malicious capability into a product or to coerce a manufacturer to hand over the
manufacturing specifications of a sensitive U.S. system. Note that it is impossible to completely eliminate
all risks.
Currently, organizations, and many private sector integrators and suppliers use varied and not yet
standardized practices, which make it difficult to consistently measure and manage ICT supply chain risks
across different organizations. ICT Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) is the process of identifying,assessing, and mitigating the risks associated with the global and distributed nature of ICT product andservice supply chains.

1.1 PURPOSE
The purpose of this publication is to provide guidance to federal agencies on identifying, assessing,selecting, and implementing risk management processes and mitigating controls throughout theirorganizations to help manage ICT supply chain risks.
The processes and controls identified in this document can be modified or augmented with organizationspecific requirements from policies, guidelines, and other documents. This publication empowers
organizations to develop ICT SCRM mitigation strategies that are tailored to their particularmission/business needs, threats, and operational environments. The publication does not provide contract
language or a complete list of ICT SCRM methods and techniques that mitigate specific supply chain
threats.

1.2 SCOPE
This publication provides guidance to federal agencies on managing ICT supply chain risks to theirinformation systems and organizations. The processes and controls described in this publication build on
federal agency guidance and are for federal agencies to consider and implement. While entities outside of
the federal government may decide to consult this publication as a source of good practices, thepublication does not contain any specific guidance for those entities.
The guidance and controls in this publication are recommended for use with high-impact systems
according to Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 199, Standards for Security Categorizationof Federal Information and Information Systems [FIPS 199]. However, because of interdependencies andindividual needs, agencies may choose to apply the guidance to systems at a lower-impact level or to
specific system components.
Agencies should carefully consider the potential costs of applying ICT SCRM controls beyond highimpact information systems and weigh the costs against the risks to the organization of not applying ICT

3This document defines an ICT Supply Chain Compromise as:
An occurrence within the ICT supply chain whereby an adversary jeopardizes the confidentiality, integrity, oravailability of a system or the information the system processes, stores, or transmits. An ICT supply chain compromise
can occur anywhere within the system development life cycle of the product or service.

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________SCRM controls. Implementing these controls will require financial and human resources, not just fromthe agencies directly but also potentially from their systems integrators, suppliers, and external service
providers that would also result in increased costs to the acquirer. ICT SCRM controls support risk
management, and should be considered in the context of the agency’s or organization’s unique missions,operational environments, and risks.
In applying the processes and controls, organizations may decide to include requirements that they
include in their policies, acquisition guidelines, and procurement documents.
In this document, the word organization refers to the federal agency. In the context of this document,
the acquirer is the federal agency.
Federal agencies are a diverse set of organizations with different missions, structures, and sizes. The
guidance in this publication applies across the federal sector, and therefore this publication does notdifferentiate between the terms federal agency and organization, and uses those terms interchangeably.

1.3 TARGET AUDIENCEICT SCRM is an organization-wide activity that should be directed under the overall agency governance,
regardless of the specific organizational structure. At the organization level, ICT SCRM activities shouldbe led by the risk executive function, described in [NIST SP 800-39], and implemented throughout theorganization by a variety of individuals in different roles. The audience for this publication is federal
agency personnel involved in engineering/developing, testing, deploying, acquiring, maintaining, andretiring ICT components and systems. These functions may include, but are not limited to, information
technology, information security, contracting, risk executive, program management, legal, supply chain
and logistics, acquisition and procurement, other related functions, and system owner. Other personnel orentities are free to make use of the guidance as appropriate to their situation.

1.4 BACKGROUNDICT SCRM encompasses activities in the system development life cycle, including research anddevelopment (R&D), design, manufacturing, acquisition, delivery, integration, operations, anddisposal/retirement of an organization’s ICT products (i.e., hardware and software) and services. ICTSCRM lies at the intersection of security, integrity, resilience, and quality, as depicted in Figure 1-1.
 Security provides the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information that (a) describes
the ICT supply chain (e.g., information about the paths of ICT products and services, both logicaland physical); or (b) traverses the ICT supply chain (e.g., intellectual property contained in ICT
products and services), as well as information about the parties participating in the ICT supply
chain (anyone who touches an ICT product or service throughout its life cycle); Integrity is focused on ensuring that the ICT products or services in the ICT supply chain are
genuine, unaltered, and that the ICT products and services will perform according to acquirer
specifications and without additional unwanted functionality.
 Resilience is focused on ensuring that ICT supply chain will provide required ICT products andservices under stress or failure; and Quality is focused on reducing vulnerabilities that may limit the intended function of acomponent, lead to component failure, or provide opportunities for exploitation.
This publication addresses the overlap of the four pillars of ICT SCRM - security, integrity, resilience,and quality - as depicted in Figure 1-1. The publication does not address the entire body of knowledge ofthese disciplines that is depicted by the non-overlapping areas of the circles in Figure 1-1.
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Figure 1-1: Four Pillars of ICT SCRM

1.4.1

Federal Agencies ICT Supply Chain

Federal agencies run complex information systems and networks to support their missions. These
information systems and networks are composed of ICT products and components made available by ICT
suppliers. Federal agencies also acquire and deploy an array of IT services, including those that:

Integrate or provide operations, maintenance, and disposal support for federal information
systems and networks within and outside of the federal agency authorization boundaries,4 madeavailable by system integrators; andProvide external services to support federal agency operations that are provided from both withinor outside of the federal agency authorization boundaries, made available by external service
providers.

In addition to operating information systems and networks internally, organizations also host systemdevelopment and integration activities within their authorization boundaries. Those activities may be
performed by the agency themselves or by system integrators. The ICT supply chain infrastructure is theintegrated set of components (hardware, software, and processes) within the organizational boundary that

4 NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4 defines Authorization Boundary as:

All components of an information system to be authorized for operation by an authorizing official and excludes
separately authorized systems, to which the information system is connected.[NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4, p. B-2]

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composes the environment in which a system is developed or manufactured, tested, deployed, maintained,
and retired/decommissioned. Figure 1-2 depicts a federal agency ICT supply chain that consists ofmultiple layers of system integrators, external service providers, and suppliers with respect to the scope of
this publication and the drivers that influence activities described herein.
The ICT supply chain infrastructure is the integrated set of components (hardware, software andprocesses) within the organizational boundary that composes the environment in which a system isdeveloped or manufactured, tested, deployed, maintained, and retired/decommissioned.
Depicted in Figure 1-2, organizations define which mission functions and information systems compose
the ICT supply chain infrastructure, potentially including system integrator and external service provider
support.
An organization’s ICT supply chain infrastructure includes internal development, information,
information systems, services, components, and processes to create, maintain, and retire an organization’s
information systems. Examples include development environments, individuals who are working within
the organization’s facilities, logistics/delivery environments that transport information systems andcomponents, or applicable system and communications interfaces. These elements of the ICT supply
chain infrastructure may be provided by the organization itself, system integrator, or external service
provider. Inclusion in ICT supply chain infrastructure is defined by agreement documents fororganization’s information systems between system integrator or external service provider or theorganization.

Figure 1-2: Federal Agency Relationships with System Integrators, Suppliers, and External Service Providers with
Respect to the Scope of NIST SP 800-161.

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________The ICT supply chain infrastructure does not include:






The information system traversing the supply chain;
Any information system not used in the development, testing, maintenance, or retirement of
information system components;
System integrator, supplier, and external service provider information systems that are outside of
the organization’s information system boundaries as defined by [NIST SP 800-37 Rev. 1];
System integrator, supplier, and external service provider people, processes, and technology thatare not engaged in supporting the information system sytem development life cycle (SDLC); andThe organization’s people, processes, and technology not engaged in the SDLC for an
information system. For example, organization’s shipping and receiving processes handling nonICT are not included in the ICT supply chain infrastructure, such as food services or paper clips.

Supplier and system integrator are included under the definition of “developer” by NIST SP 800-53
Revision 4, Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations:
A general term that includes: (i) developers or manufacturers of information systems, systemcomponents, or information system services; (ii) systems integrators; (iii) vendors; and (iv)product resellers. Development of systems, components, or services can occur internally withinorganizations (i.e., in-house development) or through external entities.[NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4, p.
B-6]
NIST SP 800-161 uses NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 developer definition items (i), (iii), and (iv) to define
supplier and item (ii) to define system integrator.
NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 describes external information system service provider as follows:
External services can be provided by: (i) entities within the organization but outside of the security
authorization boundaries established for organizational information systems; (ii) entities outsideof the organization either in the public sector (e.g., federal agencies) or private sector (e.g.,commercial service providers); or (iii) some combination of the public and private sector options.
External information system services include, for example, the use of service-oriented
architectures (SOAs), cloud-based services (infrastructure, platform, software), or data center
operations. External information system services may be used by, but are typically not part of,organizational information systems. In some situations, external information system services may
completely replace or heavily augment the routine functionality of internal organizational
information systems. [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4, p. B-8]
Additionally, NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 describes organizational users as follows:
An organizational employee or an individual the organization deems to have equivalent status ofan employee including, for example, contractor, guest researcher, or individual detailed fromanother organization.[NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4, p. B-16]

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1.4.2

ICT Supply Chain Risk

ICT supply chain risks include insertion of counterfeits, unauthorized production, tampering, theft,insertion of malicious software and hardware (e.g., GPS tracking devices, computer chips, etc.), as well as
poor manufacturing and development practices in the ICT supply chain. These risks are realized when
threats in the ICT supply chain exploit existing vulnerabilities.
Figure 1-3 depicts ICT supply chain risk resulting from the likelihood that relevant threats may exploit
applicable vulnerabilities and the consequential potential impact.

Figure 1-3: ICT Supply Chain Risk

It should be noted that it might take years for a vulnerability stemming from the ICT supply chain to be
exploited or discovered. In addition, it may be difficult to determine whether an event was the direct
result of a supply chain vulnerability. This may result in a persistent negative impact on an organization’s
missions that could range from reduction in service levels leading to customer dissatisfaction to theft ofintellectual property or degradation of mission-critical functions.

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1.4.3

Federal Agency Relationships with System Integrators, Suppliers, and ExternalService Providers

ICT supply chain risks are associated with an organization’s decreased visibility into, and understandingof, how the technology that they acquire is developed, integrated, and deployed. They are also associatedwith the processes, procedures, and practices used to assure the integrity, security, resilience, and qualityof the products and services. Federal agencies have a variety of relationships with their system
integrators, suppliers, and external service providers. Figure 1-4 depicts how the diverse types of these
relationships affect an organization’s visibility and control of the supply chain.

Figure 1-4: An Organization’s Visibility, Understanding, and Control of its ICT Supply Chains

Some supply chain relationships are tightly intermingled, such as when a system integrator develops acomplex information system to be operated within the federal agency’s authorization boundary or whenan external service provider manages federal agency information systems and resources on behalf of thedepartment. These relationships are usually guided by an agreement (e.g., contract) that establishes
detailed functional and security requirements and may provide for custom development or significant
customization of ICT products and services. For these relationships, system integrators and external
service providers are likely to be able to work with the federal agency to implement those processes andcontrols listed within this document, which are deemed appropriate based on the results of a risk
assessment and cost/benefit analysis. This may include floating requirements upstream in the supply chainthat can significantly impact costs to the supplier. The cost of requiring system integrators and external
service providers to implement ICT SCRM processes and controls should be weighed against the risks to
the organization of not adhering to those additional requirements. Often, working directly with the system

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integrators and external service providers to identify appropriate mitigation processes and controls will
help create a more cost-effective strategy.
Procuring ICT products directly from ICT suppliers establishes a direct relationship between those
suppliers and the acquirers. This relationship is also usually guided by an agreement between the acquirer
and ICT supplier. However, commercial ICT developed by suppliers are typically designed for general
purposes for a global market and typically are not tailored to any individual customer’s specificoperational or threat environments. Organizations should establish a dialog with ICT suppliers regarding
their specific ICT SCRM requirements to determine if an ICT solution is “fit for purpose."5This dialog will help acquirers understand the capabilities of existing ICT products and services, set
expectations and requirements for suppliers, and identify ICT SCRM needs not yet satisfied by themarket. It can also help identify emerging solutions that may at least partially support the acquirer need.
Overall, the dialog will allow the acquirer to better articulate their requirements to align with and drive
market offerings.
This dialog will also help system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers achieve a morenuanced understanding of the organization’s requirements and how their current and emerging ICT
products and services may be able to satisfy them.
Organizations should recognize that ICT suppliers may or may not be able to offer customization or
tailoring to their ICT SCRM needs, and that such tailoring may have cost implications. Acquirers should
weigh the costs and benefits afforded by these products to make their final acquisition decision. Acquirers
should also recognize that ICT suppliers may choose to keep their processes or products as is and notsupport the acquirer’s security and ICT SCRM requirements. The dialog between acquirers and ICT
suppliers may help acquirers and ICT suppliers achieve an understanding and identify acceptable
solutions when such challenges occur.
Requiring a greater level of testing, documentation, or security features from system integrators,
suppliers, and external service providers may increase the price of a product or service. Additional costs
may include the development or testing of products, or the collection, analysis, storage and protection ofdata. This is especially true for those products and services developed for general-purpose application andnot tailored to the specific organization’s security or ICT SCRM requirements. Acquirers should evaluate
and weigh the costs of adding ICT SCRM requirement into agreements against the risks to theorganization of not adding ICT SCRM requirements.

“Fit for purpose” is a term used informally to describe a process, configuration item, IT service, etc., that is capable of meeting
its objectives or service levels. Being fit for purpose requires suitable design, implementation, control, and maintenance.
(Adapted from Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Service Strategy.[ITIL Service Strategy)
5

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1.5 FOUNDATIONAL PRACTICESICT supply chain risk management builds on existing standardized practices in multiple disciplines.
Organizations should consider reaching a base level of maturity in foundational practices prior to
specifically focusing on ICT SCRM practices that are more advanced. Those foundational practices aredescribed in NIST standards and guidelines as well as other applicable national and international
standards and best practices. They include: ensuring that organizations understand the cost and schedulingconstraints of implementing ICT SCRM; integrating information security requirements into theacquisition process; using applicable baseline security controls as one of the sources for security
requirements; ensuring a robust software quality control process; and establishing multiple sources, e.g.,delivery routes, for critical system elements. A formal program and process, including dedicatedresources, may be used to reach a base level of maturity. [FIPS 199] “high-impact” systems should
already have these foundational practices established.
Having foundational practices in place is critical to successfully and productively interacting with maturesystem integrators and suppliers who may have such practices standardized and in place.
The following are specific examples of the multidisciplinary foundational practices that can be
implemented incrementally to improve an organization’s ability to develop and implement more advanced
ICT SCRM practices:


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Implement a risk management hierarchy and risk management process (in accordance with NIST
SP 800-39, Managing Information Security Risk [NIST SP 800-39]) including an organizationwide risk assessment process (in accordance with NIST SP 800-30 Revision 1, Guide for
Conducting Risk Assessments [NIST SP 800-30 Rev. 1]);
Establish an organization governance structure that integrates ICT SCRM requirements andincorporates these requirements into the organizational policies;
Establish consistent, well-documented, repeatable processes for determining [FIPS 199]impact
levels;Use risk assessment processes after the [FIPS 199] impact level has been defined, including
criticality analysis, threat analysis, and vulnerability analysis;
Implement a quality and reliability program that includes quality assurance and quality control
process and practices;
Establish a set of roles and responsibilities for ICT SCRM that ensures that the broad set of
appropriate stakeholders are involved in decision making, including who has the required
authority to take action, who has accountability for an action or result, and who should be
consulted and/or informed (e.g., Legal, Risk Executive, HR, Finance, Enterprise IT, Program
Management/System Engineering, Information Security, Acquisition/procurement, supply chain
logistics, etc.);
Ensure that adequate resources are allocated to information security and ICT SCRM to ensure
proper implementation of guidance and controls;
Implement consistent, well-documented, repeatable processes for system engineering, ICT
security practices, and acquisition;
Implement an appropriate and tailored set of baseline information security controls in NIST SP
800-53 Revision 4, Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems andOrganizations [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4];
Establish internal checks and balances to assure compliance with security and quality
requirements;

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

Establish a supplier management program including, for example, guidelines for purchasing
directly from qualified original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)6 or their authorized distributors
and resellers;
Implement a tested and repeatable contingency plan that integrates ICT supply chain risk
considerations to ensure the integrity and reliability of the supply chain including during adverse
events (e.g., natural disasters such as hurricanes or economic disruptions such as labor strikes);
andImplement a robust incident management program to successfully identify, respond to, andmitigate security incidents. This program should be capable of identifying causes of security
incidents, including those originating from the ICT supply chain.

The guidance and controls contained in this publication are built on existing practices from multiple
disciplines and are intended to increase the ability of organizations to strategically manage ICT supply
chain risks over the entire life cycle of systems, products, and services.

1.6 RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROGRAMS AND PUBLICATIONSThis publication builds on the Joint Task Force Transformation Initiative Unified Information Security
Framework7 and uses concepts described in a number of NIST publications to facilitate integration withthe agencies’ existing organization-wide activities. These publications are complementary and work
together to help organizations build risk-based information security programs to help protect theiroperations and assets against a range of diverse and increasingly sophisticated threats. This publication
will be revised to remain consistent with the NIST SP 800-53 security controls catalog, using an iterative
process as the ICT SCRM discipline matures.
NIST SP 800-161 builds on the fundamental concepts described in:




6

FIPS 199, Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information
Systems, to conduct criticality analysis to scoping ICT SCRM activities to high-impact
components or systems [FIPS 199];
NIST SP 800-30, Revision 1, Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments, to integrate ICT SCRM
into the risk assessment process [NIST SP 800-30 Rev 1];
NIST SP 800-37, Revision 1, Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal
Information Systems [NIST SP 800-37 Rev. 1];

For purposes of this publication, the term original equipment manufacturers includes original component manufacturers.

7 The Unified Information Security Framework is a comprehensive, flexible, risk-based information security framework

developed by the Joint Task Force, a partnership among the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Department of
Defense, the U.S. Intelligence Community, and the Committee on National Security Systems. The Unified Information Security
Framework consists of five core publications including: [NIST SP 800-39]; [NIST SP 800-30 Rev. 1]; [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4];
and [NIST SP 800-37 Rev. 1].

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System View, to integrate ICT SCRM into the risk management tiers and risk management
process [NIST SP 800-39];
NIST 800-53 Revision 4, Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems andOrganizations, to provide information security controls for enhancing and tailoring to ICT SCRM
context [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4]; andNIST SP 800-53A Revision 4, Guide for Assessing the Security Controls in Federal Information
Systems and Organizations, Building Effective Security Assessment Plans, to enable theassessment techniques to be applicable to ICT SCRM controls in this publication [NIST SP 80053A Rev. 4].

NIST SP 800-161 refines the multitiered risk management approach of [NIST SP 800-39], by providing
ICT SCRM guidance at Organization, Mission, and Information System Tiers. It also contains anenhanced overlay of specific ICT SCRM controls, building on [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4]. Appendix C ofthis publication contains threat events described in [NIST SP 800-30 Rev. 1] .
For specific guidance on system security engineering, the readers of NIST SP 800-161 should consult
NIST SP 800-160, Systems Security Engineering [NIST SP 800-160]. They complement each other; NIST
SP 800-161 addresses the security engineering aspects of ICT SCRM while NIST SP 800-160 addresses
system security engineering more broadly throughout SDLC processes. Both publications build on [NISTSP 800-53 Rev. 4].
NIST SP 800-161 draws from a collaborative ICT SCRM community workshop hosted in October 2012
[NIST SCRM Proceedings 2012] and NIST Interagency Report (IR) 7622, Notional Supply Chain Risk
Management Practices for Federal Information Systems [NIST IR 7622], which resulted from several
years of rigorous study of the ICT SCRM discipline and provided NIST the insight required to scope anddevelop this special publication. NISTIR 7622 can be used by the reader for background materials insupport of applying the special publication to their specific acquisition processes.
NIST SP 800-161 also draws from several external publications, including: Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security Software Assurance Acquisition
Working Group, Software Assurance in Acquisition: Mitigating Risks to the Enterprise [SwA]; National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), Engineering for System Assurance [NDIA];
 International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission(ISO/IEC) 15288 – System Life Cycle Processes [ISO/IEC 15288];
 Draft ISO/IEC 27036 – Information Technology – Security Techniques – Information Security for
Supplier Relationships [ISO/IEC 27036];
 The Open Group’s Open Trusted Technology Provider™ Standard (O-TTPS), Version 1.0,
Mitigating Maliciously Tainted and Counterfeit Products [O-TTPS]; and Software Assurance Forum for Excellence in Code (SAFECode) Software Integrity Framework[SAFECode 2] and Software Integrity Best Practices [SAFECode 1].

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This publication does not replace guidance provided with respect to federal agency assessment of cloudservice providers’ security. The external service providers discussed in this publication include cloudservice providers. When applying this publication to cloud service providers, federal agencies should firstuse Federal Risk and Authorization Program (FedRAMP) cloud services security guidelines and thenapply NIST SP 800-161 for those processes and controls that are not addressed by FEDRAMP.8

1.7 METHODOLOGY FOR BUILDING ICT SCRM GUIDANCE USING SP 800-39 AND
NIST SP 800-53 REVISION 4This publication applies the multitiered risk management approach of [NIST SP 800-39], by providing
ICT SCRM guidance at organization, mission, and system tiers. It also contains an enhanced overlay of
specific ICT SCRM controls, building on NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4.
The guidance/controls contained in this publication are built on existing practices from multiple
disciplines and are intended to increase the ability of organizations to strategically manage the associated
ICT supply chain risks over the entire life cycle of systems, products, and services. It should be noted that
this publication gives organizations the flexibility to either develop stand-alone documentation (e.g.,
policies, assessment and authorization [A&A] plan and ICT SCRM plan) for ICT SCRM or to integrate it
into existing agency documentation.
For individual systems, this guidance is recommended for use for those information systems that are
categorized as high-impact systems according to [FIPS 199]. The agencies may choose to apply thisguidance to systems at a lower-impact level or to specific system components. Finally, NIST SP 800-161
describes the development and implementation of an ICT SCRM plan to be developed at all levels of anorganization. An ICT SCRM plan is an output of ICT supply chain risk assessment and should contain
ICT SCRM controls tailored to specific agency mission/business needs, operational environments, and/or
implementing technologies.
1.7.1

Integration into Risk Management Process

The processes in this publication should be integrated into agencies’ existing SDLCs and organizational
environments at all levels of the risk management processes and hierarchy (organization, mission, system)as described in [NIST SP 800-39]. Chapter 2.1 provides an overview of the [NIST SP 800-39] risk
management hierarchy and approach, and identifies ICT SCRM activities in the risk management process.
The structure of Chapter 2.1 mirrors [NIST SP 800-39]. Chapter 2.2 builds on Chapter 3 of [NIST SP
800-39], providing descriptions and explanations of ICT SCRM activities.

8

For cloud services, FEDRAMP is applicable for low- and moderate-impact systems [FEDRAMP]. Ongoing work will address
high-impact systems utilizing cloud services. Once the work is completed, agencies should refer to FEDRAMP for guidance
applicable to high-impact systems utilizing cloud services.

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1.7.2

Enhanced ICT SCRM Overlay

This publication contains an enhanced overlay of [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4]. Chapter 3 identifies, refines,
and expands ICT SCRM-related controls from [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4], adds new controls that address
specific ICT SCRM concerns, and offers ICT SCRM-specific supplemental guidance where appropriate.
Figure 1-5 illustrates the process used to create the enhanced overlay. The individual controls andenhancements from [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4] that were relevant to ICT SCRM were extracted. These
controls were analyzed to determine how they apply to ICT SCRM. Additional supplemental guidance
was then developed and included for each control and control enhancement. The resulting set of controls
and enhancements were evaluated to determine whether all ICT SCRM concerns were addressed. A newcontrol family, Provenance, and some additional controls and control enhancements were created toaddress specific remaining ICT SCRM concerns.

Figure 1-5: ICT SCRM Security Controls in NIST SP 800-161, Chapter 3.5

Managing Cost and Resources
Organizations should be aware that implementing these controls will require financial and humanresources. Any requirements that result from federal agencies implementing these controls may also
require financial and human resources from their system integrators, suppliers, and external service
providers potentially resulting in increased costs to the federal acquirers. The acquirers should becognizant of the costs and weigh them against the risks to the organization of not selecting ICT SCRM
controls. When appropriate, allow system integrators, suppliers, and external services providers theopportunity to reuse any existing data and documentation that may provide evidence to support ICTSCRM. The challenge of balancing ICT supply chain risks with the costs and benefits of mitigating
controls should be a key component of the acquirer’s overall approach to ICT SCRM.

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THIS SPECIAL PUBLICATIONThis publication is organized as follows: Chapter 1 provides the purpose, scope, and applicability of the publication and describes
foundational concepts and practices;

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Chapter 2 discusses ICT SCRM processes and how to integrate them into the organizational risk
management hierarchy and risk management process, based on NIST SP 800-39;
Chapter 3 provides a comprehensive set of baseline controls for organizations to choose from andthe guidance required for customization/tailoring for their organization and ICT needs;
Appendix A maps the ICT SCRM controls in this publication to their associated NIST SP 800-53
Revision 4 controls;
Appendix B provides NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 controls relevant to ICT SCRM that are listed
or expanded in Chapter 3;
Appendix C provides a listing of threats from NIST SP 800-30 Revision 1 Appendix B relevant
to ICT SCRM;
Appendix D provides a Supply Chain Threat and Analysis Framework and illustrative threat
scenarios;
Appendix E provides an annotated ICT SCRM Plan Template;
Appendix F provides a glossary of terms used in the publication;
Appendix G provides the acronyms and abbreviations used in the publication; andAppendix H lists references used in the development of this publication.

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CHAPTER TWO

INTEGRATION OF ICT SCRM INTO ORGANIZATIONWIDE RISK MANAGEMENTICT SCRM should be integrated into the organization-wide risk management process described in [NISTSP 800-39] and depicted in Figure 2-1. This process includes the following continuous and iterative steps:(i) Frame risk – establish the context for risk-based decisions and the current state of the information
system or ICT supply chain infrastructure;(ii) Assess risk – review and interpret criticality, threat, vulnerability, likelihood, impact, and related
information;(iii) Respond to risk once determined – select, tailor, and implement mitigation controls; and(iv) Monitor risk on an ongoing basis, including changes to an information system or ICT supply
chain infrastructure, using effective organizational communications and a feedback loop forcontinuous improvement.

Figure 2-1: Risk Management Process

Managing ICT supply chain risks is a complex, multifaceted undertaking that requires a coordinatedeffort across an organization and building trust relationships and communicating with external andinternal partners and stakeholders. This includes: engaging multiple disciplines in identifying priorities
and developing solutions; ensuring that ICT SCRM activities are performed throughout the SDLC; andincorporating ICT SCRM into overall risk management decisions. ICT SCRM activities should involve

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identifying and assessing applicable risks, determining appropriate mitigating actions, developing ICTSCRM Plans to document selected mitigating actions, and monitoring performance against ICT SCRM
Plans. Because ICT supply chains differ across and within organizations, ICT SCRM plans should betailored to individual organizational, program, and operational contexts. These tailored ICT SCRM Plans
will provide the basis for determining whether an information system is “fit for purpose” 9 and as such,the controls need to be tailored accordingly. Tailored ICT SCRM plans will help organizations to focus
appropriate resources on the most critical functions and components based on organizational
mission/business requirements and their risk environment.

Organizations should ensure that tailored ICT SCRM Plans are designed to: Manage, rather than eliminate risk;
 Ensure that operations are able to adapt to constantly evolving threats;
 Be responsive to changes within their own organization, programs, and the supporting
information systems; and Adjust to the rapidly evolving practices of the private sector's global ICT supply chain.

Chapter 2.1 describes the three-tier risk management approach in terms of ICT SCRM. Generally, seniorleaders provide the strategic direction, mid-level leaders plan and manage projects, and individuals on thefront lines develop, implement, and operate the ICT supply chain infrastructure. The activities performedin each tier can be integrated into an organization’s overall risk management process in order to ensurethat the ICT SCRM program appropriately supports the organization’s mission and goals.10 Chapter 2.2
describes the Risk Management Framework as it applies to ICT SCRM. The foundational concepts aredescribed in greater detail in [NIST SP 800-39].

2.1 MULTITIERED RISK MANAGEMENT
To integrate risk management throughout an organization, [NIST SP 800-39] describes threeorganizational tiers, depicted in Figure 2-2, that address risk at the: (i) organization level; (ii)mission/business process level; and (iii) information system level. ICT SCRM requires the involvementof all three tiers.

The tailoring of ICT SCRM plans to individual organizational, program, and operational contexts may be referred to as “fit for
purpose” as defined by Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Service Strategy.[ITIL Service Strategy]
9

10 This document uses the word “mission” to mean the organization’s required tasks as determined by the organization’s purposeand enterprise-level goals and priorities.

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Figure 2-2: Multitiered Organization-wide Risk Management11

In general, Tier 1 is engaged in the development of the overall ICT SCRM strategy, determination oforganization-level ICT SCRM risks, and setting of the organization-wide ICT SCRM policies to guide theorganization’s activities in establishing and maintaining organization-wide ICT SCRM capability. Tier 2
is engaged in prioritizing the organization’s mission and business functions, conducting mission/businesslevel risk assessment, implementing Tier 1 strategy and guidance to establish an overarchingorganizational capability to manage ICT supply chain risks, and guiding organization-wide ICT
acquisitions and their corresponding SDLCs. Tier 3 is involved in specific ICT SCRM activities to be
applied to individual information systems and information technology acquisitions, including integrationof ICT SCRM into these systems’ SDLCs.
The ICT SCRM activities can be performed by a variety of individuals or groups within an organization
ranging from a single individual to committees, divisions, programs, or any other organizational
structures. ICT SCRM activities will be distinct for different organizations depending on theirorganization’s structure, culture, mission, and many other factors. It should be noted that this publication
gives organizations the flexibility to either develop stand-alone documentation (e.g., policies, assessment
and authorization [A&A] plan and ICT SCRM Plan) for ICT SCRM, or to integrate it into existing
agency documentation.

11 Further information about the concepts depicted in Figure 2-2 can be found in [NIST SP 800-39].

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Table 2-1 shows generic ICT SCRM stakeholders for each tier with the specific ICT SCRM activities
performed within the corresponding tier. These activities are either direct ICT SCRM activities or have a
direct impact on ICT SCRM.
Table 2-1: Supply Chain Risk Management Stakeholders

Tiers

Tier Name

Generic Stakeholder

1

Organization Executive Leadership (CEO, CIO, COO, CFO,
CISO, CTO, etc.) - Risk executive

2

Mission3

Information
Systems

Activities
Define corporate strategy,
policy, goals andobjectives
Develop actionable
policies and procedures,
guidance and constraints

Business Management (includes program
management [PM], research and development[R&D], Engineering [SDLC oversight],
Acquisitions / Procurement, Cost Accounting, andother management related to reliability, safety,
security, quality, etc.)
Systems Management (architect, developers,
Policy implementation,system owner, QA/QC, test, and contracting
requirements, constraints,
personnel, approving selection, payment andimplementations
approach for obtaining, maintenance engineering,
disposal personnel, etc.)

The ICT SCRM process should be carried out across the three risk management tiers with the overall
objective of continuous improvement in the organization’s risk-related activities and effective inter-tierand intra-tier communication, thus integrating both strategic and tactical activities among all stakeholders
with a shared interest in the mission/business success of the organization. Whether addressing acomponent, a system, a process, a mission function, or a policy, it is important to engage the relevant ICTSCRM stakeholders at each tier to ensure that risk management activities are as informed as possible.
The next few sections provide example activities in each tier. However, because each organization isdifferent, there may be activities that are performed in different tiers than listed as individualorganizational context requires.
Chapter 3 provides a number of mission/business ICT SCRM controls that organizations can tailor for
their use to help guide Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 ICT SCRM activities. It should be noted the tailoringshould be scoped to the organization’s risk management needs and take into consideration the costs
associated with implementing ICT SCRM.

2.1.1

TIER 1 – ORGANIZATION

Tier 1 (Organization) provides strategic ICT SCRM direction for an organization using organizationallevel mission/business requirements and policies, governance structures such as the risk executive(function), and organization-wide resource allocation for ICT SCRM. Tier 1 activities help to ensure that
ICT SCRM mitigation strategies are cost-effective, efficient, and consistent with the strategic goals andobjectives of the organization. It is critical that, as organizations define and implement organization-wide
strategies, policies, and processes in this tier, they include ICT SCRM considerations.

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________ICT SCRM activities at this tier include: Establish ICT SCRM policies based on external and organizational requirements and constraints(e.g., applicable laws and regulations). Policies should include the purpose and applicability, as
well as investment and funding requirements, of the ICT SCRM program; Based on the ICT SCRM policy, identify:o Mission/business requirements that will influence ICT SCRM, such as cost, schedule,
performance, security, privacy, quality, and safety;o Information security requirements, including ICT SCRM-specific requirements; ando Organization-wide mission/business functions and how ICT SCRM will be integrated
into their processes;
 Establish risk tolerance level for ICT supply chain risks;
 Establish a group of individuals across the organization who will address ICT SCRM throughout
the organization, known as the ICT SCRM Team; and Ensure that ICT SCRM is appropriately integrated into the organization risk management
policies and activities.
Implementing ICT SCRM requires that organizations establish a coordinated team-based approach toassess ICT supply chain risk and manage this risk by using programmatic and technical mitigation
techniques. The coordinated team approach, either ad hoc or formal, will enable agencies to conduct acomprehensive analysis of their ICT supply chain, communicate with external partners/stakeholders, andgain broad consensus regarding appropriate resources for ICT SCRM.
The ICT SCRM Team should consist of members with diverse roles and responsibilities for leading andsupporting ICT SCRM activities including information technology, information security, contracting, risk
executive, mission/business, legal, supply chain and logistics, acquisition and procurement, and otherrelevant functions. These individuals may include government personnel or prime contractors hired toprovide acquisition services to a government client.
Members of the ICT SCRM team should be a diverse group of people who are involved in the various
aspects of the SDLC. Collectively, to aid in ICT SCRM, these individuals should have an awareness of,and provide expertise in organizational acquisition processes, legal practices, vulnerabilities, threats, andattack vectors, as well as an understanding of the technical aspects and dependencies of systems. The ICTSCRM team may be an extension of an organization’s existing information system risk management or
include parts of a general risk management team.
2.1.2

TIER 2 – MISSION/BUSINESS PROCESS

Tier 2 (Mission/Business Process) addresses risk from a mission/business process perspective and isinformed by the risk context, risk decisions, and risk activities at Tier 1.12 In this tier, program
requirements are defined and managed – including ICT SCRM as well as cost, schedule, performance,
and a variety of critical nonfunctional requirements. These nonfunctional requirements include concepts
such as reliability, dependability, safety, security, and quality. Many threats to and through the supply
chain are addressed at this level in the management of trust relationships with system integrators,

12 For more information, see [NIST SP 800-39 Section 2.2].

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suppliers, and external service providers of ICT products and services. Because ICT SCRM can both
directly and indirectly impact mission/business processes, understanding, integrating and coordinating
ICT SCRM activities at this tier are critical for ensuring successful mission and business operations.
ICT SCRM activities at this tier include: Defining the risk response strategy, including ICT SCRM considerations, for critical processes;
 Establishing ICT SCRM processes to support mission/business processes;
 Determining the ICT SCRM requirements of the mission/business systems needed to execute themission/business processes;
 Incorporating ICT SCRM requirements into the mission/business processes;
 Integrating ICT SCRM requirements into an enterprise architecture to facilitate the allocation of
ICT SCRM controls to organizational information systems and the environments in which thosesystems operate; and Establishing a mission/business-specific ICT SCRM team that coordinates and collaborates withthe organizational ICT SCRM team.
2.1.3

TIER 3 – INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Tier 3 (Information Systems) is where ICT SCRM activities are integrated into the SDLC oforganizational information systems and system components. Many threats through the supply chain are
addressed at this level with the use of ICT SCRM-related information security requirements. Risk
management activities at Tier 3 reflect the organization’s risk management strategy defined in Tier 1 (perNIST SP 800-39), as well as cost, schedule, and performance requirements for individual information
systems as defined in Tier 2. ICT SCRM activities at this tier include:

Applying, monitoring and managing ICT SCRM controls in the development and sustainment ofsystems supporting mission/business processes; andApplying, monitoring and managing ICT SCRM controls to the SDLC and the environment inwhich the SDLC is conducted (e.g., ICT supply chain infrastructure) used to develop andintegrate mission/business systems.

At Tier 3, ICT SCRM significantly intersects with the SDLC, which includes acquisition (both custom
and off-the-shelf), requirements, architectural design, development, delivery, installation, integration,
maintenance, and disposal/retirement of information systems, including ICT products and services.

2.2 ICT SCRM ACTIVITIES IN RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS
Risk management is a comprehensive process that requires organizations to: (i) frame risk (i.e., establish
the context for risk-based decisions); (ii) assess risk; (iii) respond to risk once determined; and (iv)monitor risk on an ongoing basis using effective organizational communications and a feedback loop forcontinuous improvement in the risk-related activities of organizations. Figure 2-3 depicts
interrelationships among the risk management process steps, including the order in which each analysis
may be executed and the interactions required to ensure that the analysis is inclusive of the various inputs
at the organization, mission, and operations levels.

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Figure 2-3: ICT SCRM Risk Management

The steps in the risk management process – Frame, Assess, Respond, and Monitor - are iterative and notinherently sequential in nature. Different individuals may be required to perform the steps at the sametime depending on a particular need or situation. Organizations have significant flexibility in how the risk
management steps are performed (e.g., sequence, degree of rigor, formality, and thoroughness ofapplication) and in how the results of each step are captured and shared—both internally and externally.
The outputs from a particular risk management step will directly impact one or more of the other risk
management steps in the risk management process.
Figure 2-4 summarizes ICT SCRM activities throughout the risk management process as they are
performed within the three organizational tiers. The arrows between different steps of the risk
management process depict simultaneous flow of information and guidance among the steps. Together thearrows indicate that the inputs, activities, and outputs are continuously interacting and influencing one
another. More details are provided in the following subsections.

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SystemMission/Business Process

Enterprise

Frame

AssessRespond

Monitor• Make enterprise risk
decisions to avoid, mitigate,
share, or transfer risk
• Select, tailor, and implement
appropriate enterprise ICTSCRM controls• Document controls inEnterprise ICT SCRM Plan

• Integrate ICT SCRM into agency
Continuous Monitoring
program• Monitor and evaluate
enterprise-level constraints andrisks for change and impact• Monitor effectiveness ofenterprise-level risk response• Define ICT SCRM Mission/business • Conduct Risk Assessment
requirements
including Criticality• Incorporate these requirements
Analysis for mission
into mission/ business processes
threads
and enterprise architecture• Determine current risk
• Establish ICT SCRM Risk
postureAssessment Methodology• Establish FIPS 199 impact levels• Conduct Mission Function Baseline
Criticality
Determination• Determine ICT SCRM risk
assessment methodology• Make mission/business-levelrisk decisions to avoid,
mitigate, share, or transfer risk
• Select, tailor , and implement
appropriate mission/ businesslevel controls• Document controls in Missionlevel ICT SCRM Plan

• Identify which missionfunctions need to bemonitored for ICT supply chain
change and assessed for
impact• Integrate ICT SCRM into
Continuous Monitoringprocesses and systems• Monitor and evaluate missionlevel risks and constraints forchange and impact• Monitor effectiveness of
mission-level risk response• Define system-level
ICT SCRM
requirements• Make mission/business-levelrisk decisions to avoid,
mitigate, share, or transfer risk
• Select, tailor , and implement
appropriate system-level
controls• Document ICT SCRM controls
in System Security Plan

• Monitor and evaluate
system-level requirements
and risks for change andimpact• Monitor effectiveness of
system-level risk response• Develop ICT SCRM Policy• Conduct Baseline Criticality
Determination• Integrate ICT SCRM
considerations into enterpriserisk management• Integrate ICT SCRM
considerations into
enterprise risk
management• Conduct ICT SCRM Risk
Assessment including
Criticality Analysis forindividual systems• Determine current risk
postureFigure 2-4: ICT SCRM Activities in Risk Management Process

Figure 2-4 depicts interrelationships among the risk management process steps including the order inwhich each analysis is executed and the interactions required to ensure that the analysis is inclusive of thevarious inputs at the organization, mission, and operations levels.
The remainder of this section provides a detailed description of ICT SCRM activities within the Frame,
Assess, Respond, and Monitor steps of the Risk Management Process. The structure of subsections 2.2.1
through 2.2.4 mirrors the structure of NIST SP 800-39, Chapters 3.1-3.4. For each step of the Risk
Management Process (i.e., Frame, Assess, Respond, Monitor), the structure includes Inputs andPreconditions, Activities, and Outputs and Post-Conditions. Activities are further organized into Tasks
according to [NIST SP 800-39] . NIST SP 800-161 cites the steps and tasks of the risk management
process but rather than repeating any other content of [NIST SP 800-39], it provides ICT SCRM-specificguidance for each step with its Inputs and Preconditions, Activities with corresponding Tasks, and
Outputs and Post-Conditions. NIST SP 800-161 adds one task to the tasks provided in [NIST SP 800-39],
under the Assess step: Task 2-0, Criticality Analysis.
2.2.1

FRAME

Inputs and Preconditions
Frame is the step that establishes context for ICT SCRM in all three tiers. The scope and structure of theorganizational ICT supply chain infrastructure, the overall risk management strategy, as well as specific
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program/project or individual information system needs, are defined in this step. The data and informationcollected during Frame provides inputs for scoping and fine-tuning ICT SCRM activities in other risk
management process steps throughout the three tiers.
[NIST SP 800-39] defines risk framing as “the set of assumptions, constraints, risk tolerances, andpriorities/trade-offs that shape an organization’s approach for managing risk.” ICT SCRM risk framing
should be integrated into the overall organization risk framing process. Outputs of the organization’s risk
framing and the overall risk management process should serve as inputs into the ICT SCRM risk framing,
including but not limited to:











Organization policies, strategies, and governance;
Applicable laws and regulations;
Mission functions and business goals;
Organization processes (security, quality, etc.);
Organization threats, vulnerabilities, risks, and risk tolerance;
Criticality of mission functions;Enterprise architecture;
Mission-level security policies;
Functional requirements; andSecurity requirements.

ICT SCRM risk framing is an iterative process that also uses inputs from the other steps of the risk
management process (Assess, Respond, and Monitor) as inputs. Figure 2-5 depicts the Frame Step with
its inputs and outputs along the three organizational tiers.

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SystemMission/Business Process

Enterprise

InputsFrame

Outputs• Enterprise policies, strategies,
governance• Applicable laws and regulations• All mission functions and businessgoals• External and internal customer
requirements• Enterprise processes (security,
quality, etc. )• Enterprise threats, vulnerabilities,risks, risk tolerance• Supply chain map• Determine Baseline Criticality
Develop ICT SCRM Policy• Integrate ICT SCRM
considerations into enterpriserisk management• ICT SCRM Policy• Baseline Criticality
ICT SCRM considerations
integrated into enterpriserisk management• Mission functions• Criticality of functions• Enterprise Architecture• Mission-level security policies• Define ICT SCRM Mission/business
requirements• Incorporate these requirements
into mission/ business processes
and enterprise architecture• Establish ICT SCRM Risk
Assessment Methodology• Establish FIPS 199 impact levels• Conduct Mission Function Baseline
Criticality• Determine ICT SCRM risk
assessment methodology• ICT SCRM Mission/business
requirements• Revised mission/businessprocesses and enterprisearchitecture• ICT SCRM Risk Assessment
Methodology• FIPS 199 impact levels• Mission Function Baseline
Criticality• Define system-level
ICT SCRM
requirements• System-level ICTSCRM requirements• Functional requirements• Security requirements

Figure 2-5: ICT SCRM in the Frame Step

Figure 2-5 depicts inputs, activities, and outputs of the Frame Step distributed along the threeorganizational tiers. The large arrows on the left and right sides of the activities depict the inputs andoutputs to and from other steps of the Risk Management Process, with the arrow on the left depicting thatthe steps are in constant interaction. Inputs into the Frame Step include inputs from other steps as well as
inputs from the organization risk management process that are shaping the ICT SCRM process. Up-downarrows between the tiers depict flow of information and guidance from the upper tiers to the lower tiersand the flow of information and feedback from the lower tiers to the upper tiers. Together the arrows
indicate that the inputs, activities, and outputs are continuously interacting and influencing one another.

Activities
RISK ASSUMPTIONSTASK 1-1: Identify assumptions that affect how risk is assessed, responded to, and monitored within theorganization.
Supplemental Guidance:
As a part of identifying ICT supply chain Risk Assumptions within the broader Risk Management process(described in [NIST SP 800-39]), agencies should do the following:

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







Define ICT SCRM mission, business, and system-level requirements;
Identify which mission functions and related components are critical to the organization,
including FIPS 199 impact level, to determine the baseline criticality;
Identify, characterize, and provide representative examples of threat sources, vulnerabilities,
consequences/impacts, and likelihood determinations related to ICT supply chain;
Develop organization-wide ICT SCRM policy;
Select appropriate ICT supply chain risk assessment methodologies, depending on organizational
governance, culture, and diversity of the missions/business functions;
Establish a method for the results of ICT SCRM activities to be integrated into the overall agency
Risk Management Process; andDefine which mission functions and information systems compose the ICT supply chain
infrastructure, potentially including system integrator and external service provider support andperiodically review its ICT supply chain infrastructure because it may evolve over time.

Baseline Criticality:
Critical functions are those functions, which if corrupted or disabled, are likely to result in mission
degradation or failure. Mission-critical functions are dependent on their supporting systems that in turndepend on critical components in those systems (hardware, software, and firmware). Mission-critical
functions also depend on processes that are used to execute the critical functions. Those components andprocesses that deliver defensive functions (e.g., access control, identity management, and crypto) andunmediated access (e.g., power supply) may also be considered mission-critical. A criticality analysis is
the primary method by which mission-critical functions and associated systems/components are identified
and prioritized.
Baseline criticality determination is the initial identification of specific critical components and processes
based on the required function. This includes the analysis of requirements, architecture, and design to
identify the minimum set of components required for system operation. Baseline criticality determination
includes first identifying system requirements that support mission function and systems/components thathave a direct impact on system requirements. This analysis should include agency system and ICT supply
chain dependencies. Organizations should define the baseline criticality in the Frame phase to be updated
and tailored to specific context in the Assess phase.
Determining baseline criticality is an iterative process performed at all tiers during both Frame andAssess. In Frame, baseline criticality determination is expected to be performed at a high level, using theavailable information with further detail incorporated through additional iterations or at the Assess step.
Determining baseline criticality may include the following:






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Identify mission and business drivers, such as applicable regulations, policies, requirements, andoperational constraints;
Prioritize these drivers to help articulate the organization’s critical functions, systems, andcomponents;
Identify, group, and prioritize mission functions based on the drivers;
Establish [FIPS 199] impact levels (high, moderate, low) for individual systems; andMap the mission functions to the system architecture and identify the systems/ components(hardware, software, and firmware) and processes that are critical to the mission/business
effectiveness of the system or an interfacing network.

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Please note that baseline criticality can be determined for existing systems or for future system integration
efforts based on system architecture and design. It is an iterative activity that should be performed if achange warranting iteration is identified in the Monitor step.
Threat Sources:
For ICT SCRM, threat sources include: (i) hostile cyber/physical attacks either to the supply chain or to
an information system component(s) traversing the supply chain; (ii) human errors; or (iii) geopolitical
disruptions, economic upheavals, and natural or man-made disasters. [NIST SP 800-39] states thatorganizations provide a succinct characterization of the types of tactics, techniques, and procedures
employed by adversaries that are to be addressed by safeguards and countermeasures (i.e., security
controls) deployed at Tier 1 (organization level), at Tier 2 (mission/business process level), and at Tier 3(information system level)—making explicit the types of threat sources that are to be addressed as well as
making explicit those not being addressed by the safeguards/countermeasures.
Threat information includes historical threat data, factual threat data, or validated technology-specificthreat information. Threat information may come from multiple information sources, including the U.S.
Intelligence Community (for federal agencies), as well as open source reporting such as news and trade
publications, partners, suppliers, and customers.
Information about ICT supply chain (such as from supply chain maps) provides the context for
identifying possible locations or access points for threat agents to enter the ICT supply chain. The ICT
supply chain threat agents are similar to the information security threat agents, such as attackers orindustrial spies. Table 2-2 lists examples of ICT supply chain threat agents. Appendix D provides Supply
Chain Threat Scenarios listed in Table 2-2.
Table 2-2: Examples of ICT Supply Chain Threat AgentsThreat AgentCounterfeiters

Scenario
Counterfeits inserted
into ICT supply chain(see Appendix D
Scenario 1)

ExamplesCriminal groups seek to acquire and sell counterfeit ICTcomponents for monetary gain. Specifically, organized crimegroups seek disposed units, purchase overstock items, andacquire blueprints to obtain ICT components that they cansell through various gray market resellers to acquirers.13

Insiders

Intellectual property
loss

Disgruntled insiders sell or transfer intellectual property tocompetitors or foreign intelligence agencies for a variety ofreasons including monetary gain. Intellectual property
includes software code, blueprints, or documentation.

ForeignIntelligence

Malicious code
insertion (seeForeign intelligence services seek to penetrate ICT supply
chain and implant unwanted functionality (by inserting new

13 “Defense Industrial Base Assessment: Counterfeit Electronics,” [Defense Industrial Base Assessment: Counterfeit Electronics]

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Threat Agent
Services

Scenario
Appendix D Scenario
3)

Examplesor modifying existing functionality) to be used when thesystem is operational to gather information or subvert14
system or mission operations.
Terrorists
Unauthorized access
Terrorists seek to penetrate or disrupt the ICT supply chain
and may implant unwanted functionality to obtain
information or cause physical disablement and destruction
through ICT.
Industrial
Industrial
Industrial spies/cyber criminals seek ways to penetrate ICT
Espionage/Cyber Espionage/Intellectual supply chain to gather information or subvert system or
Criminals
Property Loss (seemission operations (e.g., exploitation of an HVAC contractor
Appendix D Scenario to steal credit card information).
2)

Agencies can identify and refine ICT SCRM-specific threats in all three tiers. Table 2-3 provides
examples of threat considerations and different methods that can be used to characterize ICT supply
chain threats at different tiers.
Table 2-3: Supply Chain Threat Considerations

Tier
Tier 1Threat Consideration
Methods
 Organization’s business and mission
 Establish common starting points for
identifying ICT supply chain threat.
 Strategic supplier relationships
 Geographical considerations related to  Establish procedures for counteringorganization-wide threats such as insertion of
the extent of the organization’s ICT
counterfeits into critical systems andsupply chain
components.

Tier 2 Mission functions
 Geographic locations
 Types of suppliers (COTS, external
service providers, or custom, etc.)
 Technologies used organization-wide Identify additional sources of threat
information specific to organizational missionfunctions.
 Identify potential threat sources based on thelocations and suppliers identified throughexamining available agency ICT supply chain
information (e.g., from supply chain map.) Scope identified threat sources to the specificmission functions, using the agency the ICT
supply chain information.
 Establish mission-specific preparatory
procedures for countering threat

14 Examples of subverting operations include gaining unauthorized control to ICT supply chain or flooding it with unauthorized

service requests to reduce or deny legitimate access to ICT supply chain.

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Tier
Tier 3Threat Consideration
 SDLC

Methods
adversaries/natural disasters.
 Base the level of detail with which threats
should be considered on the SDLC phase.
 Identify and refine threat sources based on thepotential for threat insertion within individual
SDLC processes.

Vulnerabilities
A vulnerability is a weakness in an information system, system security procedures, internal controls, or
implementation that could be exploited or triggered by a threat source [FIPS 200], [NIST SP 800-34 Rev.
1], [NIST SP 800-53 Rev 4], [NIST SP 800-53A Rev. 4], [NIST SP 800-115]. Within the ICT SCRM
context, it is any weakness in the system/component design, development, manufacturing, production,
shipping and receiving, delivery, operation, and component end-of life that can be exploited by a threat
agent. This definition applies to both the systems/components being developed and integrated (i.e., within
the SDLC) and to the ICT supply chain infrastructure, including any security mitigations and techniques,
such as identity management or access control systems.
ICT supply chain vulnerabilities may be found in: The systems/components within the SDLC (i.e., being developed and integrated); The development and operational environment directly impacting the SDLC; and The logistics/delivery environment that transports ICT systems and components (logically or
physically).
Organizations should identify approaches used to characterize ICT supply chain vulnerabilities, consistent
with the characterization of threat sources and events and with the overall approach used by theorganization for characterizing vulnerabilities. Appendix C provides examples of ICT supply chain threat
events, based on [NIST SP 800-30 Rev. 1, Appendix B].
All three organizational tiers should contribute to determining the organization’s approaches tocharacterize vulnerabilities, with progressively more detail identified and documented in the lower tiers.
Table 2-4 provides examples of considerations and different methods that could be used to characterize
ICT supply chain vulnerabilities at different tiers.
Table 2-4: Supply Chain Vulnerability Considerations

Tier
Tier 1CHAPTER 2

Vulnerability Consideration
Methods
 Organization’s mission/business Examine agency ICT supply chain information
including that from supply chain maps to Supplier relationships (e.g., system
identify especially vulnerable locations or
integrators, COTS, external services)
organizations.
 Geographical considerations related to Analyze agency mission for susceptibility to
the extent of the organization’s ICT
potential supply chain vulnerabilities.
supply chainExamine system integrator and supplier Enterprise/Security Architecture
relationships for susceptibility to potential
 Criticality Baseline
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Tier

Vulnerability ConsiderationTier 2 Mission functions
 Geographic locations
 Types of suppliers (COTS, custom,etc.)
 Technologies usedTier 3

 Individual technologies, solutions,and suppliers should be considered.

Methods
supply chain vulnerabilities.
Review enterprise architecture and criticality
baseline to identify areas of weakness requiring
more robust ICT supply chain considerations.
Refine analysis from Tier 1 based on specificmission functions and applicable threat andsupply chain information.
Consider using the National Vulnerability
Database (NVD), including Common
Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) andCommon Vulnerability Scoring System(CVSS), to characterize, categorize, and scorevulnerabilities15.
Consider using scoring guidance to prioritize
vulnerabilities for remediation.
Use CVEs where available to characterize andcategorize vulnerabilities.
Identify weaknesses.

Consequences and Impact
Impact is the effect on organizational operations, organizational assets, individuals, other organizations,or the Nation (including the national security interests of the United States) of a loss of confidentiality,
integrity, or availability of information or an information system [NIST SP 800-53 Rev.4].
For ICT SCRM, impact should be considered for the systems or components traversing the ICT supply
chain, the supply chain itself, the ICT supply chain infrastructure, and the organization- or mission-level
activities. All three tiers in the risk management hierarchy may be impacted. Potential impacts can begathered through reviewing historical data for the agency, similar peer organizations, or applicableindustry surveys. In this publication, impact is always in relation to the organization’s mission andincludes the systems or components traversing the supply chain as well as the supply chain itself.
The following are examples of ICT supply chain consequences and impact: An earthquake in Malaysia reduced the amount of commodity Dynamic Random Access Memory(DRAM) to 60 percent of the world’s supply, creating a shortage for hardware maintenance andnew design.
 Accidental procurement of a counterfeit part resulted in premature component failure, thereby
impacting the organization’s mission performance.

15

See https://nvd.nist.gov/

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Likelihood
In an information security risk analysis, likelihood is a weighted factor based on a subjective analysis of
the probability that a given threat is capable of exploiting a given vulnerability[CNSSI 4009]. Agencies
should determine which approach(es) they will use to determine the likelihood of an ICT supply chain
compromise, consistent with the overall approach used by the agency’s risk management function.
RISK CONSTRAINTSTASK 1-2: Identify constraints16 on the conduct of risk assessment, risk response, and risk monitoring
activities within the organization.
Supplemental Guidance:
Identify the following two types of constraints to ensure that the ICT supply chain is integrated into theagency risk management process:1. Agency constraints; and2. ICT supply chain-specific constraints.
Agency constraints serve as an overall input into framing the ICT supply chain policy at Tier 1, mission
requirements at Tier 2, and system-specific requirements at Tier 3. Table 2-5 lists the specific agency and
ICT supply chain constraints. ICT supply chain constraints, such as ICT SCRM policy and ICT SCRM
requirements, may need to be developed if they do not exist.

Table 2-5: Supply Chain Constraints

Tier
Tier 1

Agency Constraints
Organization policies, strategies,
governanceApplicable laws and regulations
Mission functions
Organization processes (security,
quality, etc.)
Mission functions
Criticality of functions
Enterprise architecture
Mission-level security policies

Tier 2

Tier 3

 Functional requirements

ICT Supply Chain Constraints
 Organization ICT SCRM policy based on theexisting agency policies, strategies, andgovernance; applicable laws and regulations;
mission functions; and organization processes.

 ICT SCRM Mission/business requirementsthat are incorporated into mission/businessprocesses and enterprise architecture.

 System-level ICT SCRM requirements.

16 Refer to [NIST SP 800-39], Section 3.1, Task 1-2 for a description of constraints in the risk management context.

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 Security requirements

An organization ICT SCRM policy is a critical vehicle for guiding ICT SCRM activities. Driven byapplicable laws and regulations, this policy should support applicable organization policies including
acquisition and procurement, information security, quality, and supply chain and logistics. It should
address goals and objectives articulated in the overall agency strategic plan, as well as specific missionfunctions and business goals, along with the internal and external customer requirements. It should also
define the integration points for ICT SCRM with the agency’s Risk Management Process and SDLC.
ICT SCRM policy should define ICT SCRM-related roles and responsibilities of the agency ICT SCRM
team, any dependencies among those roles, and the interaction among the roles. ICT SCRM-related roles
will articulate responsibilities for collecting ICT supply chain threat intelligence, conducting risk
assessments, identifying and implementing risk-based mitigations, and performing monitoring functions.
Identifying and validating roles will help to specify the amount of effort that will be required to
implement the ICT SCRM Plan. Examples of ICT SCRM-related roles include:







Risk executive function that provides overarching ICT supply chain risk guidance to engineering
decisions that specify and select ICT products as the system design is finalized;
Procurement officer and maintenance engineering responsible for identifying and replacing the
hardware when defective;
Delivery organization and acceptance engineers who verify that the part is acceptable to receive
into the acquiring organization;
System integrator responsible for system maintenance and upgrades, whose staff resides in theacquirer facility and uses system integrator development infrastructure and the acquirer
operational infrastructure;
System Security Engineer/Systems Engineer responsible for ensuring that information systemsecurity concerns are properly identified and addressed; andThe end user of ICT systems/components/services.

ICT SCRM requirements should be guided by the ICT SCRM policy, as well as by the mission functions
and their criticality at Tier 2 and by known functional and security requirements at Tier 3.
RISK TOLERANCETASK 1-3: Identify the level of risk tolerance for the organization.
Supplemental Guidance:
Risk tolerance is the level of risk that organizations are willing to accept in pursuit of strategic goals andobjectives [NIST SP 800-39]. Organizations should take into account ICT supply chain threats,vulnerabilities, constraints, and baseline criticality, when identifying the overall level of risk tolerance.17

17 Federal Departments’ and Agencies’ governance structures vary widely (see [NIST SP 800-100, Section 2.2.2]). Regardless ofthe governance structure, individual agency risk decisions should apply to the agency and any subordinate organizations, but notin the reverse direction.

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________PRIORITIES AND TRADE-OFFSTASK 1-4: Identify priorities and trade-offs considered by the organization in managing risk.
Supplemental Guidance
As a part of identifying priorities and trade-offs, organizations should consider ICT supply chain threats,vulnerabilities, constraints, and baseline criticality.
Outputs and Post Conditions
Within the scope of NIST SP 800-39, the output of the risk framing step is the risk management strategy
that identifies how organizations intend to assess, respond to, and monitor risk over time. This strategy
should clearly include any identified ICT SCRM considerations and should result in the establishment of
ICT SCRM-specific processes throughout the agency. These processes should be documented in one ofthree ways:
1. Integrated into existing agency documentation;
2. A separate set of documents addressing ICT SCRM; or
3. A mix of separate and integrated documents, based on agency needs and operations.
The following information should be provided as an output of the risk framing step, regardless of how theoutputs are documented:









ICT SCRM Policy;
Baseline Criticality including prioritized mission functions and FIPS 199 criticality;
ICT supply chain risk assessment methodology and guidance;
ICT supply chain risk response guidance;
ICT supply chain risk monitoring guidance;
ICT SCRM mission/business requirements;
Revised mission/business processes and enterprise architecture with ICT SCRM considerations
integrated; andSystem-level ICT SCRM requirements.

Outputs from the risk framing step serve as inputs to the risk assessment, risk response, and risk
monitoring steps.
2.2.2

ASSESS

Inputs and Preconditions
Assess is the step where all the collected data is used to conduct a risk assessment. A number of inputs are
combined and analyzed to identify the likelihood and the impact of an ICT supply chain compromise,
including criticality, threat, and vulnerability analysis results; stakeholder knowledge; and policy,
constraints, and requirements.
An ICT supply chain risk assessment should be integrated into the overall organization risk assessment
processes. ICT SCRM risk assessment results should be used and aggregated as appropriate tocommunicate ICT supply chain risks at each tier of the organizational. Figure 2-6 depicts the Assess Step
with its inputs and outputs along the three organizational tiers.

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SystemMission/Business Process

Enterprise

InputsAssess

Outputs• ICT SCRM Policy• Baseline Criticality• Integrate ICT SCRM
considerations into
enterprise risk management• ICT SCRM considerations
integrated into enterprise risk
management• ICT SCRM
Mission/business
requirements• Revised mission/businessprocesses and enterprisearchitecture• ICT SCRM Risk Assessment
Methodology• FIPS 199 impact levels• Mission Function Baseline
Criticality• ICT SCRM Risk Assessment
Methodology• Conduct Risk Assessment
including Criticality Analysis
for mission threads• Determine current risk
posture• Mission function criticality• Mission risks• ICT supply chain risk
assessment for mission
threads• System-level ICT SCRM
requirements• Conduct ICT SCRM Risk
Assessment including
Criticality Analysis forindividual systems• Determine current risk
posture• Identification of criticalcomponents• ICT supply chain risk
assessment for individual
systems

Figure 2-6: ICT SCRM in the Assess Step

Similar to Figure 2-5, Figure 2-6 depicts inputs, activities, and outputs of the Assess Step distributed
along the three organizational tiers. The large arrows on the left and right sides of the activities depict the
inputs from other steps of the Risk Management Process, with the arrow on the left depicting that thesteps are in constant interaction. Inputs into the Assess Step include inputs from the other steps. Up-downarrows between the tiers depict flow of information and guidance from the upper tiers to the lower tiersand the flow of information and feedback from the lower tiers to the upper tiers. Together the arrows
indicate that the inputs, activities, and outputs are continuously interacting and influencing one another.
Criticality, vulnerability, and threat analyses are essential to the supply chain risk assessment process. As
depicted in Figure 2-4, vulnerability and threat analyses can be performed in any order and may be
performed iteratively to ensure that all applicable threats and vulnerabilities have been identified.
The order of activities that begins with the update of the criticality analysis ensures that the assessment is
scoped to include only relevant critical mission functions and the impact of ICT supply chain on thesemission functions. The likelihood of exploitability is a key step to understanding impact. It becomes asynthesis point for criticality analysis, vulnerability analysis, and threat analysis and helps to further
clarify impact to support an efficient and cost-effective risk decision.

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Activities
CRITICALITY ANALYSISTASK 2-0: Update Criticality Analysis of mission-critical functions, systems, and components to narrow
the scope (and resources) for ICT SCRM activities to those most important to mission success.
Supplemental GuidanceCriticality analysis should include the ICT supply chain infrastructure for both the organization andapplicable system integrators, suppliers, external service providers, and the systems/components/services.
Criticality analysis assesses the direct impact they each have on the mission priorities. ICT supply chain
infrastructure includes the SDLC for applicable systems, services, and components because the SDLC
defines whether security considerations are built into the systems/components or added after
systems/components have been created.
Organizations should update and tailor Baseline Criticality established during the Frame Step of the risk
management process, including FIPS 199 system categorization, based on the information newly
discovered in the Assess step. Organizations should use their own discretion for whether to performcriticality analysis for moderate-impact systems.
In addition to updating and tailoring Baseline Criticality, performing criticality analysis in the Assess Step
may include the following:Perform a dependency analysis and assessment to establish which components may require
hardening given the system architecture;
Obtain and review existing information that the agency has about critical ICT
systems/components such as locations where they are manufactured or developed, physical andlogical delivery paths, information flows and financial transactions associated with thesecomponents, and any other available information that can provide insights into ICT supply chainof these components;18 andCorrelate identified critical components/services to the information about the ICT supply chain,
the ICT supply chain infrastructure, historical data, and SDLC to identify critical ICT supply
chain paths.

The outcome of the updated criticality analysis is a narrowed, prioritized list of the organization’s critical
functions, systems, and components. Organizations can use the Baseline Criticality process in Chapter
2.2.1, Task 1-1, to update Criticality Analysis.

18 This information may be available from a supply chain map for the agency or individual IT projects or systems. Supply chain

maps are descriptions or depictions of supply chains including the physical and logical flow of goods, information, processes, andmoney upstream and downstream through a supply chain. They may include supply chain nodes, locations, delivery paths, ortransactions.

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Because more information will be available in the Assess step, organizations can narrow the scope andincrease the granularity of a criticality analysis. When identifying critical functions and associatedsystems/components and assigning them criticality levels, consider the following:Functional breakdown is an effective method to identify functions, associated criticalcomponents, and supporting defensive functions;
Dependency analysis is used to identify the functions on which critical functions depend (e.g.,
defensive functions such as digital signatures used in software patch acceptance). Those functions
become critical functions themselves;
Identification of all access points to identify and limit unmediated access to critical
function/components (e.g., least-privilege implementation); andMalicious alteration can happen throughout the SDLC.

The resulting list of critical functions is used to guide and inform the vulnerability analysis and threat
analysis to determine the initial ICT SCRM risk as depicted in Figure 2-3. ICT supply chain
countermeasures and mitigations can then be selected and implemented to reduce risk to acceptablelevels.
Criticality analysis is performed iteratively and may be performed at any point in the SDLC andconcurrently at each tier. The first iteration is likely to identify critical functions and systems/componentsthat have a direct impact on mission functions. Successive iterations will include information from thecriticality analysis, threat analysis, vulnerability analysis, and mitigation strategies defined at each of theother tiers. Each iteration will refine the criticality analysis outcomes and result in the addition of
defensive functions. Several iterations are likely needed to establish and maintain the criticality analysis
results.

THREAT AND VULNERABILITY IDENTIFICATIONTASK 2-1: Identify threats to and vulnerabilities in organizational information systems and theenvironments in which the systems operate.
Supplemental Guidance
In addition to threat and vulnerability identification, as described in [NIST SP 800-39] and [NIST SP 80030 Rev. 1], organizations should conduct ICT supply chain threat analysis and vulnerability analysis.
Threat Analysis
For ICT SCRM, a threat analysis provides specific and timely threat characterization of threat events (seeAppendix C) and potential threat actors, including any identified system integrators, suppliers, or external
service providers,19 to inform management, acquisition, engineering, and operational activities within an

19 Please note that threat characterization of system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers may be benign.

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organization. Threat analyses can use a variety of information to assess potential threats, including open
source, intelligence, and counterintelligence. Organizations should use the threat sources defined during
the Frame Step in the threat analysis conducted during the Assess Step. Organizations should use theresults of the threat analysis in the Assess Step to ultimately support acquisition decisions, alternativebuild decisions, and development and selection of appropriate mitigations in the Respond Step. ICT
supply chain threat analysis should be based on the results of the criticality analysis. Specific identified
threats may include people, processes, technologies, or natural and man-made disasters.
Agencies should use information available from existing incident management activities to determine
whether they have experienced an ICT supply chain compromise and to further investigate suchcompromises. Some ICT supply chain compromises may not be recognized as such at first and may beinitially identified as an information security or logistics incident. Agencies should define criteria forwhat constitutes an ICT supply chain compromise to ensure that such compromises can be identified as apart of post-incident activities, including forensics investigations.
An ICT supply chain threat analysis should capture at least the following data: Changes to the systems/components or SDLC environment;
 Observation of ICT supply chain-related attacks while they are occurring; Incident data collected post-ICT supply chain-related compromise;
 Observation of tactics, techniques, and procedures used in specific attacks, whether observed orcollected using audit mechanisms; and Natural and man-made disasters before, during, and after occurrence.

Vulnerability Analysis
For ICT SCRM, a vulnerability is any weakness in system/component design, development, production,
or operation that can be exploited by a threat to defeat a system’s mission objectives or to significantly
degrade its performance.
A vulnerability analysis is an iterative process that informs risk assessment and countermeasure selection.
The vulnerability analysis works alongside the threat analysis to help inform the impact analysis and tohelp scope and prioritize vulnerabilities to be mitigated.
Vulnerability analysis in the Assess Step should use the approaches used during the Frame Step tocharacterize ICT supply chain vulnerabilities. Vulnerability analysis should begin with identifying
vulnerabilities that are applicable to mission-critical functions and systems/components identified by thecriticality analysis. An investigation of vulnerabilities may indicate the need to raise or at least reconsider
the criticality levels of functions and components identified in earlier criticality analyses. Later iterationsof the vulnerability analysis may also identify additional threats, or opportunities for threats, notconsidered in earlier threat assessments.
Table 2-6 provides examples of applicable ICT supply chain vulnerabilities that can be observed within
the three organizational tiers.

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Table 2-6: Examples of ICT Supply Chain Vulnerabilities Mapped to the Organizational Tiers

Tier 1 –Organization

Tier 2 –Mission/Business

Tier 3 –Operation

Vulnerability Types
1) Deficiencies or weaknesses inorganizational governancestructures or processes such as alack of ICT SCRM Plan

Mitigation Types
1) Provide guidance on how to consider
dependencies on external organizations asvulnerabilities.
2) Seek out alternate sources of newtechnology including building in-house.

1) No operational process is in placefor detecting counterfeits.
2) No budget was allocated for the
implementation of a technicalscreening for acceptance testingof ICT components entering theSDLC as replacement parts.
3) Susceptibility to adverse issues
from innovative technology
supply sources (e.g., technology
owned or managed by third
parties is buggy).
1) Discrepancy in system functions
not meeting requirements,
resulting in substantial impact toperformance,

1) Develop a program for detecting
counterfeits and allocate appropriate
budgets for putting in resources andtraining.
2) Allocate budget for acceptance testing –technical screening of components
entering into SDLC.

1) Initiate engineering change. Malicious
alteration can happen throughout thesystem life cycle to an agency system toaddress functional discrepancy and test
correction for performance impact.

The principal vulnerabilities to identify are:
 Access paths within the supply chain that would allow malicious actors to gain information about
the system and ultimately introduce components that could cause the system to fail at some latertime (“components” here include hardware, software, and firmware); Access paths that would allow malicious actors to trigger a component malfunction or failure
during system operations; and Dependencies on supporting or associated components that might be more accessible or easier formalicious actors to subvert than components that directly perform critical functions.
RISK DETERMINATIONTASK 2-2: Determine the risk to organizational operations and assets, individuals, other organizations,and the Nation if identified threats exploit identified vulnerabilities.
Supplemental Guidance
Organizations determine ICT supply chain risk by considering the likelihood that known threats exploit
known vulnerabilities to and through the ICT supply chain and the resulting consequences or adverse
impacts (i.e., magnitude of harm) if such exploitations occur. Organizations use threat and vulnerability
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information together with likelihood and consequences/impact information to determine ICT SCRM risk
either qualitatively or quantitatively.
Likelihood
Likelihood is the probability that an exploit occurrence may result in the loss of mission capability.
Determining the likelihood requires the consideration of the characteristics of the threat sources, theidentified vulnerabilities, and the organizations susceptibility to the ICT supply chain compromise, prior
to and with the safeguards/mitigations implemented. This analysis should consider the degree of an
adversary’s intent to interfere with the organization’s mission. For example, how much time or money
would the adversary spend to validate the existence of and leverage the vulnerability to attack a system?
ICT supply chain risk assessment should consider two views:
The likelihood that the ICT supply chain itself is compromised. This may impact, for example,
the availability of quality components or increase the risk of intellectual property theft; andThe likelihood that the system or component within the supply chain may be compromised, forexample, if malicious code is inserted into a system or an electric storm damages a component.

In some cases, these two views may overlap or be indistinguishable, but both may have an impact on theagency’s ability to perform its mission.
Likelihood determination should consider:






Threat assumptions that articulate the types of threats that the system or the component may besubject to, such as cybersecurity threats, natural disasters, or physical security threats;
Actual supply chain threat information such as adversaries’ capabilities, tools, intentions, andtargets;
Exposure of components to external access;
Identified system, process, or component vulnerabilities; andEmpirical data on weaknesses and vulnerabilities available from any completed analysis (e.g.,system analysis, process analysis) to determine probabilities of ICT supply chain threat
occurrence.

Factors to consider include the ease or difficulty of successfully attacking through a vulnerability and theability to detect the method used to introduce or trigger a vulnerability. The objective is to assess the net
effect of the vulnerability, which will be combined with threat information to determine the likelihood of
successful attacks in the risk assessment process. The likelihood can be based on threat assumptions or
actual threat data, such as previous breaches of the supply chain, specific adversary capability, historicalbreach trends, or frequency of breaches. The organization may use empirical data and statistical analysis
to determine specific probabilities of breach occurrence, depending on the type of data available andaccessible within the organization and from supporting organizations.
ImpactOrganizations should begin impact analysis with the potential impacts identified during the Frame Step,
determining the impact of a compromise and then the impact of mitigating that compromise.
Organizations need to identify the various adverse impacts of compromise, including: (i) the
characteristics of the threat sources that could initiate the events; (ii) identified vulnerabilities; and (iii)the organizational susceptibility to such events based on planned or implemented countermeasures.
Impact analysis is an iterative process performed initially when a compromise occurs, when mitigation
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approach is decided to evaluate the impact of change, and finally, in the ever-changing SDLC, when thesituation/context of the system or environment changes.
Organizations should use the result of impact analysis to define an acceptable level of ICT supply chain
risk for a given system. Impact is derived from criticality, threat, and vulnerability analyses results, andshould be based on the likelihood of exploit occurrence. Impact is likely to be a qualitative measurerequiring analytic judgment. Executive/decision makers use impact as an input into the risk-based
decisions whether to accept, avoid, mitigate, share, or transfer the resulting risks and the consequences ofsuch decisions.
Organizations should document the overall results of ICT supply chain risk assessments in risk
assessment reports.20 ICT supply chain risk assessment reports should cover risks in all threeorganizational tiers as applicable. Based on the organizational structure and size, multiple ICT supply
chain risk assessment reports may be required. Agencies are encouraged to develop individual reports at
Tier 1. For Tier 2, agencies may want to integrate ICT supply chain risks into the respective mission-level
Business Impact Assessments (BIA) or develop separate mission-level ICT supply chain risk assessment
reports. For Tier 3, agencies may want to integrate ICT supply chain risks into the respective System Risk
assessment reports or develop separate system-level ICT supply chain risk assessment reports. The ICT
supply chain risk assessment report applies only to High Criticality systems per [FIPS 199].
Organizations may decide to develop ICT supply chain risk assessment reports for Moderate Criticality
systems per [FIPS 199].
ICT supply chain risk assessment reports at all three tiers should be interconnected, reference each otherwhen appropriate, and integrated into the ICT SCRM Plans.
Outputs and Post Conditions
This step results in:







Confirmed mission function criticality;
Establishment of relationships between the critical aspects of the system’s ICT supply chain
infrastructure (e.g., SDLC) and applicable threats and vulnerabilities;
Understanding of the likelihood and the impact of a potential ICT supply chain compromise;
Understanding of mission and system-specific risks;Documented ICT supply chain risk assessments for mission functions and individual systems;
andIntegration of relevant ICT supply chain risk assessment results into the organization risk
management process.

20 See [NIST SP 800-30 Rev. 1 Appendix K]

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2.2.3

RESPOND

Inputs and Preconditions
Respond is the step in which the individuals conducting risk assessment will communicate the assessment
results, proposed mitigation/controls options, and the corresponding acceptable level of risk for each
proposed option to the decision makers. This information should be presented in a manner appropriate to
inform and guide risk-based decisions. This will allow decision makers to finalize appropriate risk
response based on the set of options along with the corresponding risk factors for choosing the various
options. Sometimes an appropriate response is to do nothing and to monitor the adversary’s activities andbehavior to better understand the tactics and to attribute the activities.

SystemMission/Business Process

Enterprise

ICT supply chain risk response should be integrated into the overall organization risk response. Figure 27 depicts the Respond Step with its inputs and outputs along the three organizational tiers.

InputsRespond

Outputs• ICT SCRM considerations
integrated into enterprise risk
management• Make enterprise risk decisions to
avoid, mitigate, share, or transfer
risk• Select, tailor, and implement
appropriate enterprise ICT SCRM
controls• Document controls in EnterpriseICT SCRM Plan

• Risk decisions• Implemented controls• Enterprise ICT SCRM Plan
• Feedback to enterprise-level
foundational processes that are
not ICT SCRM

• Mission function criticality• Mission risks• ICT supply chain risk
assessment for mission
threads• Make mission/business-level risk
decisions to avoid, mitigate, share,or transfer risk
• Select, tailor , and implement
appropriate mission/ business-level
controls• Document controls in Mission-level
ICT SCRM Plan

• Risk decisions• Implemented controls• Mission-level ICT SCRM Plan
• Feedback to mission functionlevel foundational processes
that are not ICT SCRM

• ICT supply chain risk
assessment for individual
systems• Make mission/business-level risk
decisions to avoid, mitigate, share,or transfer risk
• Select, tailor, and implement
appropriate system-level controls• Document ICT SCRM controls in
System Security Plan

• Risk decisions• Implemented controls• Updated System Security Plan
• Feedback to system-level
foundational processes that are
not ICT SCRM

Figure 2-7: ICT SCRM in the Respond Step

Figure 2-7 depicts inputs, activities, and outputs of the Respond Step distributed along the threeorganizational tiers. The large arrows on the left and right sides of the activities depict the inputs from theother steps of the Risk Management Process, with the arrow on the left depicting that the steps are in
constant interaction. Inputs into the Respond Step include inputs from other steps. Outputs of the Respond
Steps serve as inputs into the other steps, as well as inputs into the overall organization Risk Management
Program at all three tiers. Up-down arrows between the tiers depict flow of information and guidance
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from the upper tiers to the lower tiers and the flow of information and feedback from the lower tiers to theupper tiers. Together the arrows indicate that the inputs, activities, and outputs are continuouslyinteracting and influencing one another.

Activities
RISK RESPONSE IDENTIFICATIONTASK 3-1: Identify alternative courses of action to respond to risk determined during the risk
assessment.
Organizations should select ICT SCRM controls and tailor these controls based on the risk determination.
ICT SCRM controls should be selected for all three organizational tiers, as appropriate per findings of therisk assessments for each of the tiers.
Many of the ICT SCRM controls included in this document may be part of an IT security plan. These
controls are included because they apply to ICT SCRM.
This process should begin with determining acceptable risk to support the evaluation of alternatives (alsoknown as trade-off analysis).
EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVESTASK 3-2: Evaluate alternative courses of action for responding to risk.
Once an initial acceptable level of risk has been defined and options identified, these options should be
evaluated for achieving this level of risk by selecting mitigations from ICT SCRM controls and tailoringthem to the organization’s context. Chapter 3 provides risk mitigations and more information on how to
select and tailor them.
This step involves conducting analysis of alternatives to select the proposed options for ICT SCRM
mitigations/controls to be applied throughout the organization.
To tailor a set of ICT SCRM controls, the organization should perform ICT SCRM and mission-level
trade-off analysis to achieve appropriate balance among ICT SCRM and functionality needs of theorganization. This analysis will result in a set of cost-effective ICT SCRM controls that is dynamically
updated to ensure that mission-related considerations trigger updates to ICT SCRM controls.
During this evaluation, applicable requirements and constraints are reviewed with the stakeholders toensure that ICT SCRM controls appropriately balance ICT SCRM and the broader organizational
requirements, such as cost, schedule, performance, policy, and compliance.
ICT SCRM controls will vary depending on where they are applied within organizational tiers and SDLC
processes. For example, ICT SCRM controls may range from using a blind buying strategy to obscureend use of a critical component, to design attributes (e.g., input validation, sandboxes, and anti-tamper
design). For each implemented control, the organization should identify someone responsible for its
execution and develop a time- or event-phased plan for implementation throughout the SDLC. Multiple
controls may address a wide range of possible risks. Therefore, understanding how the controls impact theoverall risk is critical and must be considered before choosing and tailoring the combination of controls as
yet another trade-off analysis may be needed before the controls can be finalized. The organization may
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be trading one risk for a larger risk unknowingly if the dependencies between the proposed controls andthe overall risk are not understood and addressed.
RISK RESPONSE DECISIONTASK 3-3: Decide on the appropriate course of action for responding to risk.
As described in [NIST SP 800-39] , organizations should finalize identified and tailored ICT SCRM
controls, based on the evaluation of alternatives and an overall understanding of threats, risks, and supply
chain priorities.
Risk response decisions may be made by a risk executive or be delegated by the risk executive tosomeone else in the organization. While the decision can be delegated to Tier 2 or Tier 3, the significanceand the reach of the impact should determine the tier where the decision is being made. Risk response
decisions may be made in collaboration with an organization’s risk executives, mission owners, andsystem owners, as appropriate.
The resulting decision, along with the selected and tailored controls should be documented in an ICTSCRM Plan. While the ICT SCRM Plan should ideally be developed proactively, it may also be
developed in response to an ICT supply chain compromise. Ultimately, the ICT SCRM Plan should cover
the full SDLC, document an ICT SCRM baseline, and identify ICT supply chain requirements andcontrols for Tiers 1, 2, and 3. The ICT SCRM Plan should be revised and updated based on the output of
ICT supply chain monitoring.
ICT SCRM Plans should:

Represent the result of an internal dialogue among Tiers 1, 2, and 3 stakeholders within theorganization in support of the organization’s mission and relevant mission function;
Set the framework for an external dialogue between acquirers and system integrators, suppliers,
and external service providers;
Help define the state of the information system that will be “fit for purpose”; andEstablish acceptance criteria that may be used in acquiring and sourcing ICT components andservices.

The ICT SCRM Plan should cover activities in all three organizational tiers as applicable.
Depending on their governance structure and size, agencies can have multiple ICT SCRM Plans, one forTier 1, several for Tier 2, and several for Tier 3. Agencies are encouraged to develop individual plans at
Tiers 1 and 2. For Tier 3, agencies may want to integrate ICT SCRM controls into the respective System
Security Plans or develop separate system-level ICT SCRM Plans. At Tier 3, the ICT SCRM Plan applies
to High-Impact systems per [FIPS 199] , though organizations may decide to develop an ICT SCRM Planfor Moderate-Impact systems per [FIPS 199]. Regardless of the total number of plans, the ICT SCRM
requirements and controls at the higher tiers will flow down to the lower tiers and should be used to guidethe development of the lower tier ICT SCRM Plans. Conversely, the ICT SCRM controls andrequirements at the lower tiers should be considered in developing and revising requirements and controls
applied at the higher tiers. Agencies may choose to integrate their Tier 3 ICT SCRM controls into theapplicable System Security Plans or create individual ICT SCRM Plans for Tier 3 that reference
corresponding System Security Plans.
ICT SCRM Plans at all three tiers should be interconnected and reference each other when appropriate.

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At each Tier, the plan should:












Summarize the environment as determined in Frame such as applicable policies, processes, andprocedures based on organization and mission requirements currently implemented in theorganization;
State the role responsible for the plan such as Risk Executive, Chief Financial Officer (CFO),
Chief Information Officer (CIO), Program Manager, or System Owner;
Identify key contributors such as CFO, Chief Operations Officer (COO), Acquisition/Contracting,
System Engineer, System Security Engineer, Developer/Maintenance Engineer, Operations
Manager, or System Architect;
Provide the applicable (per tier) set of controls resulting from the Analysis of Alternatives (inRespond);
Provide tailoring decision for selected controls including the rationale for the decision;
Describe feedback processes among the tiers to ensure that ICT supply chain interdependencies
are addressed;
Describe monitoring and enforcement activities (including auditing if appropriate) applicable tothe scope of each specific ICT SCRM Plan;
If appropriate, state qualitative or quantitative measures to support implementation of the ICTSCRM Plan and to assess effectiveness of this implementation;21
Define frequency for deciding whether the plan needs to be reviewed and revised;
Include criteria that would trigger revision, for example, life cycle milestones, gate reviews, or
significant contracting activities; andInclude system integrator, supplier, and external service provider ICT SCRM Plans if madeavailable as part of agreements.

Table 2-7 summarizes the controls to be contained in the ICT SCRM Plans at Tiers 1, 2, and 3 andprovides examples of those controls.

21 NIST SP 800-55 Revision 1, Performance Measurement Guide for Information Security (July 2008), provides guidance on

developing information security measures. Agencies can use general guidance in that publication to develop specific measures
for their ICT SCRM plans. See http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-55-Rev1/SP800-55-rev1.pdf

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Table 2-7: ICT SCRM Plan Controls at Tiers 1, 2, and 3

Tier
Tier 1

Controls
 Provides organizationcommon controls baseline toTiers 2 and 3

Tier 2Tier 3

 Inherits common controls
from Tier 1
 Provides mission functionlevel common controls
baseline to Tier 3
 Provides feedback to Tier 1
about what is working andwhat needs to be changed
 Inherits common controls
from Tiers 1 and 2
 Provides system-specificcontrols for Tier 3
 Provides feedback to Tier 2
and Tier 1 about what isworking and what needs tobe changed

ExamplesMinimum sets of controls applicable to all ICT suppliers
Organization-level controls applied to processing andstoring supplier information
ICT supply chain training and awareness for acquirer
staff at the organization level
Minimum sets of controls applicable to ICT suppliers
for the specific mission function
Program-level refinement of Identity and Access
Management controls to address ICT SCRM concerns
Program-specific ICT supply chain training andawareness

 Minimum sets of controls applicable to specifichardware and software for the individual system Appropriately rigorous acceptance criteria for change
management for systems that support ICT supply chain,e.g., as testing or integrated development environments
 System-specific ICT supply chain training andawareness
 Intersections with the SDLC

Appendix E provides an example ICT SCRM Plan template with the sections and the type of informationthat organizations should include in their ICT SCRM Planning activities.
RISK RESPONSE IMPLEMENTATIONTASK 3-4: Implement the course of action selected to respond to risk.
Organizations should implement the ICT SCRM Plan in a manner that integrates the ICT SCRM controls
into the overall agency risk management processes.
Outputs and Post Conditions
The output of this step is a set of ICT SCRM controls that address ICT SCRM requirements and can beincorporated into the system requirements baseline. These requirements and resulting controls will beincorporated into the SDLC and other organizational processes, throughout the three tiers.
This step results in: Selected, evaluated, and tailored ICT SCRM controls that address identified risks; Identified consequences of accepting or not accepting the proposed mitigations; and Development and implementation of the ICT SCRM Plan.
2.2.4

MONITOR

Inputs and Preconditions

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Monitor is the step in which the project/program is routinely evaluated to maintain or adjust theacceptable level of risk. Changes to the organization, mission/business, operations, or the supply chain
can directly impact an individual project/program and the organization’s ICT supply chain infrastructure.
The monitor step provides a mechanism for tracking such changes and ensuring that they areappropriately assessed for impact (in Assess). If ICT supply chain infrastructure is redefined as a result ofmonitoring, organizations should engage in a dialog with the system integrators, supplier, and external
service providers about implications and mutual obligations.

Monitor

Outputs• Organization’s Continuous
Monitoring program• Risk decisions• Implemented controls• Enterprise ICT SCRM Plan

• Integrate ICT SCRM into agency
Continuous Monitoring program• Monitor and evaluate enterprise-level
constraints and risks for change andimpact• Monitor effectiveness of enterpriselevel risk response• ICT Supply Chain integrated into agency
Continuous Monitoring program• Regular reporting as a part ofContinuous Monitoring Program• Areas of improvement based onreporting• New or changed constraints that would
trigger re-assessment of risk

• Identify which mission functions
need to be monitored for ICT
supply chain change and assessed
for impact• Integrate ICT SCRM into Continuous
Monitoring processes and systems• Monitor and evaluate mission-levelrisks and constraints for change andimpact• Monitor effectiveness of missionlevel risk response• ICT Supply Chain integrated into missionlevel Continuous Monitoring activities• Regular reporting as a part of Continuous
Monitoring activities• Areas of improvement based onreporting• New or changed constraints that would
trigger re-assessment of risk

• Monitor and evaluate systemlevel requirements and risks forchange and impact• Monitor effectiveness of systemlevel risk response• ICT Supply Chain integrated into systemlevel Continuous Monitoring activities• Regular reporting as a part of Continuous
Monitoring activities• Areas of improvement based on reporting• New or changed constraints that would
trigger re-assessment of risk

Mission/Business Process

Inputs• Mission Function-level
Continuous Monitoring
activities• Risk decisions• Implemented controls• Mission-level ICT SCRM Plan

SystemEnterprise

Organizations should integrate ICT SCRM into existing continuous monitoring programs.22 In case a
Continuous Monitoring program does not exist, ICT SCRM can serve as a catalyst for establishment of amore comprehensive continuous monitoring program. Figure 2-8 depicts the Monitor Step with its inputs
and outputs along the three organizational tiers.

• System-level Continuous
Monitoring Activities• Risk decisions• Implemented controls• Updated System Security Plan

Figure 2-8: ICT SCRM in the Monitor Step

22 NIST SP 800-137, Information Security Continuous Monitoring (ISCM) for Federal Information Systems and Organizations(September 2011), describes how to establish and implement a continuous monitoring program. See
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-137/SP800-137-Final.pdf

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Similarly to Figures 2-5, 2-6, and 2-7, Figure 2-8 depicts inputs, activities, and outputs of the Monitor
Step distributed along the three organizational tiers. The large arrows on the left and right sides of theactivities depict the inputs from the other steps of the risk management process, with the arrow on the left
depicting that the steps are in constant interaction. Inputs into the Monitor Step include inputs from othersteps, as well as from the organization Continuous Monitoring program and activities. Up-down arrows
between the tiers depict flow of information and guidance from the upper tiers to the lower tiers and theflow of information and feedback from the lower tiers to the upper tiers. Together the arrows indicate thatthe inputs, activities, and outputs are continuously interacting and influencing one another.

Activities
RISK MONITORING STRATEGYTASK 4-1: Develop a risk monitoring strategy for the organization that includes the purpose, type, andfrequency of monitoring activities.
Supplemental Guidance:
Organizations should integrate ICT SCRM considerations into their overall risk monitoring strategy.
Because some of the information will be gathered from outside of the agency – from open sources,
suppliers and integrators, monitoring ICT supply chain risk may require information that agencies havenot traditionally collected. The strategy should, among other things, include the data to be collected, state
the specific measures that will be compiled from the data, identify existing or required tools to collect thedata, identify how the data will be protected, and define reporting formats for the data. Potential data
sources may include:







Agency vulnerability management and incident management activities;
Agency manual reviews;
Interagency information sharing;
Information sharing between the agency and system integrator or external service provider;
Supplier information sharing; andContractual reviews of system integrator or external service provider.

Organizations should ensure the appropriate protection of supplier data if that data is collected and storedby the agency. Agencies may also require additional data collection and analysis tools to appropriately
evaluate the data to achieve the objective of monitoring applicable ICT supply chain risks.
RISK MONITORINGTASK 4-2: Monitor organizational information systems and environments of operation on an ongoingbasis to verify compliance, determine effectiveness of risk response measures, and identify changes.
According to [NIST SP 800-39], organizations should monitor compliance, effectiveness, and change.
Monitoring compliance within the context of ICT SCRM involves monitoring an organization’s processes
and ICT products and services for compliance with the established security and ICT SCRM requirements.
Monitoring effectiveness involves monitoring the resulting risks to determine whether these establishedsecurity and ICT SCRM requirements produce the intended results. Monitoring change involves
monitoring the environment for any changes that would require changing requirements andmitigations/controls to maintain an acceptable level of ICT supply chain risk.
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To monitor changes, organizations need to identify and document the set of triggers that would change
ICT supply chain risk. While the categories of triggers will likely include changes to constraints,
identified in Table 2-6 (during the Frame Step), such as policy, mission, change to the threat environment,
enterprise architecture, SDLC, or requirements, the specific triggers within those categories may besubstantially different for different organizations.
An example of the ICT supply chain infrastructure change is two key vetted suppliers23 announcing theirdeparture from a specific market, therefore creating a supply shortage for specific components. This
would trigger the need to evaluate whether reducing the number of suppliers would create vulnerabilities
in component availability and integrity. In this scenario, potential deficit of components may result
simply from insufficient supply of components, because fewer components are available. If none of theremaining suppliers are vetted, this deficit may result in uncertain integrity of the remaining components.
If the organizational policy directs use of vetted components, this event may result in the organization’s
inability to fulfill its mission needs.
In addition to regularly updating existing risks assessments with the results of the ongoing monitoring, theorganization should determine what would trigger a reassessment. Some of these triggers may include
availability of resources, changes to ICT supply chain risk, natural disasters, or mission collapse.
Outputs and Post Conditions
Organizations should integrate the ICT supply chain outputs of the Monitor Step into the ICT SCRM
Plan. This plan will provide inputs into iterative implementations of the Frame, Assess, and Respond
Steps as required.

23 A vetted supplier is a supplier with whom the organization is comfortable doing business. This level of comfort is usuallyachieved through developing an organization-defined set of supply chain criteria and then vetting suppliers against those criteria.

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CHAPTER THREEICT SCRM CONTROLSNIST defines security controls as:
The management, operational, and technical controls (i.e., safeguards orcountermeasures) prescribed for an information system to protect the confidentiality,
integrity, and availability of the system and its information. [FIPS 200, FIPS 199, CNSSI
No. 4009, NIST SP 800-37 Rev. 1, NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4, NIST SP 800-53A Rev. 4][NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4] defines a number of ICT supply chain-related controls within the catalog of
information security controls. This chapter is structured as an enhanced overlay of [NIST SP 800-53 Rev.
4]. It identifies and augments ICT SCRM-related controls with additional supplemental guidance andprovides new controls as appropriate. The ICT SCRM controls are organized into the eighteen control
families of [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4]. Also, an ICT SCRM-specific family, Provenance, was created,
resulting in nineteen (19) ICT SCRM control families. This approach facilitates use of the security
controls assessment techniques provided in [NIST SP 800-53A Rev. 4]to be used to assess
implementation of ICT SCRM controls.
The controls provided in this publication are intended for organizations to implement internally. As with
[NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4], the security controls and control enhancements are a starting point from which
controls/enhancements may be removed, added, or specialized based on an organization’s needs. Eachcontrol in this chapter is listed for its applicability to ICT SCRM. Those controls from [NIST SP 800-53
Rev. 4] not listed are not considered directly applicable to ICT SCRM, and thus are not included in thispublication. Details and supplemental guidance for the various ICT SCRM controls in this publication arecontained in Chapter 3.4.1. Appendix A maps the ICT SCRM controls in this publication to theircorresponding [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4] controls as appropriate.

3.1 ICT SCRM CONTROLS SUMMARY
During the Respond Step of the risk management process discussed in Chapter 2.2.3, organizations select,
tailor, and implement controls for mitigating ICT supply chain risk. Appendix E of NIST 800-53 Revision
4 lists a set of information security controls at the FIPS 199 high-, moderate-, and low-impact levels. This
chapter describes how these controls help mitigate risk to high-impact information systems andcomponents, as well as the ICT supply chain infrastructure. The chapter provides nineteen (19) ICTSCRM control families that include relevant ICT controls and supplemental guidance.
Figure 3-1 depicts the process used to identify, refine, and add ICT SCRM supplemental guidance to the[NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4] ICT SCRM-related controls. The figure, which repeats Figure 1-5, represents
the following steps:
Selected and extracted individual controls and enhancements from [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4] thatwere applicable to ICT SCRM;
2. Analyzed these controls to determine how they apply to ICT SCRM;
3. Evaluated the resulting set of controls and enhancements to determine whether all ICT SCRM
concerns were addressed;
4. Developed additional controls currently not defined in [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4];
1.

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5.
6.

Assigned applicable tiers to each ICT SCRM control; andDeveloped ICT SCRM-specific supplemental guidance for each ICT SCRM control.

Figure 3-1: ICT SCRM Security Controls in NIST SP 800-161, Chapter 3.5

It should be noted that [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4] provides some ICT SCRM-related controls. These
controls may be listed in this publication with a summary or additional guidance and a reference back to
the original NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 control and supplemental guidance detail.
Managing Cost and Resources
Organizations should be aware that implementing these controls will require financial and humanresources. Furthermore, any requirements for system integrators, suppliers, or external service
providers that result from federal agencies implementing these controls may also require financial andhuman resources from those system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers, potentiallyresulting in increased costs to the federal acquirers. The acquirers should be cognizant of the costs
and weigh them against the benefits when selecting ICT SCRM controls. This challenge of balancing
ICT supply chain risks with benefits and costs of mitigating controls should be a key component of
the organization’s overall approach to ICT SCRM.

3.2 ICT SCRM CONTROLS THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATIONAs noted in Table 3-1, ICT SCRM controls in this publication are designated by the three tiers composing
the organization. This is to facilitate ICT SCRM control selection specific to organizations, their various
missions, and individual systems, as described in Chapter 2 under the Respond step of the risk
management process. During controls selection, organizations should use the ICT SCRM controls in thischapter to identify appropriate ICT SCRM controls for tailoring, per risk assessment. By selecting andimplementing applicable ICT SCRM controls for each tier, organizations will ensure that they haveappropriately addressed ICT SCRM throughout their enterprises.

3.3 APPLYING ICT SCRM CONTROLS TO ACQUIRING ICT PRODUCTS ANDSERVICES
Acquirers may use ICT SCRM controls to communicate their ICT SCRM requirements to different typesof organizations, described within this publication, that provide ICT products and services to acquirers,
including system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers. Acquirers are encouraged to use

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It is important to recognize that the controls in this chapter do not provide specific contracting language.
Acquirers should develop their own contracting language using this publication as guidance to develop
specific ICT SCRM requirements to be included in contracts. The following sections expand upon thesystem integrator, supplier, and external service provider roles with respect to ICT SCRM expectations
for acquirers.
Organizations may use multiple techniques to ascertain that these controls are in place. Techniques may
include: supplier self-assessment, acquirer review, or third-party assessments for measurement andconformance to the organization's requirements. Organizations should first look to established third-party
assessments to see if they meet their needs. When an organization defines ICT SCRM requirements, it
may discover that established third-party assessments may not address all specific requirements. In thiscase, additional evidence may be needed to justify additional requirements. Please note that the dataobtained for this purpose should be appropriately protected.
In this document the word organization means federal department or agency. In the context of thisdocument, the federal department/agency is the acquirer.
3.3.1

System Integrators

System integrators are those entities that provide customized services to the acquirer including custom
development, test, operations, and maintenance. This group usually replies to a request for proposal froman acquirer with a proposal that describes solution or services that are customized to the acquirer’s
requirements. Such proposals provided by system integrators can include many layers of suppliers (seeChapter 3.3.2). The system integrator should ensure that those suppliers are vetted and verified withrespect to the acquirer’s ICT SCRM requirements. Because of the level of visibility that can be obtainedin the relationship with the system integrator, the acquirer has the ability to require rigorous supplieracceptance criteria as well as any relevant countermeasures to address identified or potential risks.
3.3.2

Suppliers

Suppliers may provide either commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) or government off-the-shelf (GOTS)
solutions to the acquirer. COTS solutions include non-developmental items (NDI), such as commerciallylicensing solutions/products, which includes Open Source Solutions (OSS). GOTS solutions aregovernment-only license-able solutions. Suppliers are a diverse group, ranging from very small to large,
specialized to diversified, based in a single country to transnational, and range widely in the level ofsophistication, resources, and transparency/visibility in both process and solution. Suppliers also havediverse levels and types of ICT SCRM practices in place. These practices and other related practices may
provide the evidence needed for SCRM evaluation. An example of a federal resource that may beleveraged is the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) accreditation for Trusted Suppliers. Whenappropriate, allow suppliers the opportunity to reuse any existing data and documentation that may
provide evidence of ICT SCRM implementation.
Organizations should consider that the costs of doing business with suppliers may be directly impacted by
the level of visibility the suppliers allow into how they apply security and supply chain practices to theirsolutions. When organizations or system integrators require greater levels of transparency from suppliers,
they must consider the possible cost implications of such requirements. Suppliers may select to notparticipate in procurements to avoid increased costs or perceived risks to their intellectual property,

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limiting an organization’s supply or technology choices. The risk to suppliers is the potential for multiple,
different sets of requirements that they may have to individually comply with, which may not be scalable.
3.3.3

External Providers of Information System Services

Organizations use external IT service providers to manage their mission and business functions [NIST SP
800-53 Rev. 4, p. 12]. The outsourcing of IT systems and services creates a set of ICT supply chain
concerns that reduces the acquirer’s visibility into, and management of, the outsourced functions.
Therefore, it requires increased rigor from organizations in defining ICT SCRM requirements, statingthem in procurements, and then monitoring delivered services and evaluating them for compliance withthe stated requirements. Regardless of who performs the services, the acquirer is ultimately responsible
and accountable for the risk to the organization’s systems and data that may result from using these
services. Organizations should implement a set of compensating ICT SCRM controls to address this risk
and work with the risk executive to accept this risk. A variety of methods may be used to communicate
and subsequently verify and monitor ICT SCRM requirements through such vehicles as contracts,
interagency agreements, lines of business arrangements, licensing agreements, and/or supply chaintransactions.

3.4 SELECTING AND TAILORING IMPLEMENTING ICT SCRM SECURITYCONTROLS
The ICT SCRM controls defined in this chapter should be selected and tailored according to individualorganization needs and environment using the guidance in [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4], in order to ensure a
cost-effective, risk-based approach to providing ICT SCRM organization-wide. The ICT SCRM baseline
defined in this publication addresses the basic needs of a broad and diverse set of constituencies.
Organizations must select, tailor, and implement the security controls based on: (i) the environments inwhich organizational information systems are acquired and operate; (ii) the nature of operations
conducted by organizations; (iii) the types of threats facing organizations, missions/business processes,
supply chains, and information systems; and (iv) the type of information processed, stored, or transmitted
by information systems and the supply chain infrastructure.
After selecting the initial set of security controls from Chapter 3, the acquirer should initiate the tailoringprocess according to [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4] in order to appropriately modify and more closely alignthe selected controls with the specific conditions within the organization. The tailoring should becoordinated with and approved by the appropriate organizational officials [e.g., authorizing officials,
authorizing official designated representatives, risk executive (function), chief information officers, or
senior information security officers] prior to implementing the ICT SCRM controls. Additionally,organizations have the flexibility to perform the tailoring process at the organization level (either as therequired tailored baseline or as the starting point for policy, program or system-specific tailoring), in
support of a specific program, at the individual information system level, or using a combination oforganization-level, program/mission-level and system-specific approaches.
Selection and tailoring decisions, including the specific rationale for those decisions, should be
documented in the ICT SCRM Plans for Tiers 1, 2, and 3 and approved by the appropriate organizational
officials as part of the ICT SCRM Plan approval process.
3.4.1 ICT SCRM Control Format
Table 3-2 shows the format used in this publication for controls which provide supplemental ICT SCRM
guidance on existing [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4] controls or control enhancements.

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Each control and control enhancement identifier and title is hyperlinked to the appropriate parent control
or enhancement in Appendix B. ICT SCRM controls that do not have a parent [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4]
control generally follow the format described in [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4], with the addition of relevant
tiers. New controls are given identifiers consistent with [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4], but do not duplicate
existing control identifiers.
CONTROL
IDENTIFIERCONTROL NAME
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance:
TIER:
(1)

CONTROL NAME | CONTROL ENHANCEMENT NAME
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance:
TIER:

Table 3-2: ICT SCRM Control Format

An example of the ICT SCRM control format is shown below using ICT SCRM Control AC-3 andSCRM Control Enhancement AC-3(8):AC-3

ACCESS ENFORCEMENT
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Ensure that the information systems and the ICT supply chain

infrastructure have appropriate access enforcement mechanisms in place. This includes both physical andlogical access enforcement mechanisms, which likely work in coordination for ICT supply chain needs.
Organizations should ensure a detailed definition of access enforcement.
TIER: 2, 3
Control Enhancements:(8)

ACCESS ENFORCEMENT | REVOCATION OF ACCESS AUTHORIZATIONS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: : Prompt revocation is critical to ensure that system integrators,

suppliers, and external service providers who no longer require access are not able to access anorganization’s system. For example, in a “badge flipping” situation, a contract is transferred from one
system integrator organization to another with the same personnel supporting the contract. In thatsituation, the organization should retire the old credentials and issue completely new credentials.
TIER: 2, 3

3.4.2

Using ICT SCRM Controls in This Publication

The remainder of Chapter 3 provides the enhanced ICT SCRM overlay of [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4].
Appendix B contains the NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 controls and enhancements. This chapter displays
the relationship between NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 controls and ICT SCRM controls in one of thefollowing ways:

CHAPTER 3

If a NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 control or enhancement was determined to be an information
security control that serves as a foundational control for ICT SCRM but is not specific to ICTSCRM, it is not included in this publication.
If a NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 control or enhancement was determined to be relevant to ICTSCRM, the number and title of that control or enhancement is included in Chapter 3 with the
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




complete control (unchanged from NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4) provided in Appendix B. The
tiers in which the control applies are also provided.
If a NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 enhancement was determined to be relevant to ICT SCRM, but
the parent control was not, the parent control number and title is included, but there is nosupplemental ICT SCRM guidance, and the parent control text is not included in Appendix B.
ICT SCRM controls/enhancements that do not have an associated NIST 800-53 Revision 4control/enhancement are listed with their titles and the control/enhancement text.
All ICT SCRM controls include the tiers in which the control applies and supplemental ICTSCRM guidance as applicable.
When a control enhancement provides a mechanism for implementing the ICT SCRM control, thecontrol enhancement is listed within the Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance and is not included
separately.

The following new controls and control enhancement have been added:The Provenance control family is included in Chapter 3 with a description of the control family
and three associated controls;
The SCRM Control MA-7 –Maintenance Monitoring - is added to the Maintenance control
family; andThe control enhancement The SCRM Control Enhancement SA-15 (3) – Tamper Resistance – isadded to the System Acquisition.

Each SCRM control in Chapter 3 that originated from [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4] contains a link toAppendix B where the full NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 control text is provided. Controls in Appendix B
contain links back to the related ICT SCRM control in Chapter 3.5. This feature is provided to increase
the usability of the publication by having all pertinent material in a single publication.

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3.5 ICT SCRM SECURITY CONTROLSFAMILY: ACCESS CONTROL[FIPS 200] specifies the Access Control minimum security requirement as follows:
Organizations must limit information system access to authorized users, processes acting on
behalf of authorized users, or devices (including other information systems) and to the types oftransactions and functions that authorized users are permitted to exercise.
Systems and components that traverse the ICT supply chain infrastructure are subject to access by avariety of individuals within an organization, system integrator, supplier, or external service provider.
Such access should be defined and managed to ensure that it does not inadvertently result inunauthorized release, modification, or destruction of sensitive information. This access should be
limited to only the necessary access for authorized individuals and monitored for ICT supply chain
impact.

AC-1

ACCESS CONTROL POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should specify and include in agreements (e.g., contracting

language) access control policies for their system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers.
These should include both physical and logical access to the ICT supply chain infrastructure and theinformation system.
TIER: 1, 2, 3

AC-2

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Use of this control helps in traceability of actions and actors in the ICT

supply chain infrastructure.
TIER: 2, 3

AC-3

ACCESS ENFORCEMENT
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Ensure that the information systems and the ICT supply chain

infrastructure have appropriate access enforcement mechanisms in place. This includes both physical andlogical access enforcement mechanisms, which likely work in coordination for ICT supply chain needs.
Organizations should ensure a detailed definition of access enforcement.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(8)

ACCESS ENFORCEMENT | REVOCATION OF ACCESS AUTHORIZATIONS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Prompt revocation is critical to ensure that system integrators,

suppliers, and external service providers who no longer require access are not able to access anorganization’s system. For example, in a “badge flipping” situation, a contract is transferred from one
system integrator organization to another with the same personnel supporting the contract. In thatsituation, the organization should retire the old credentials and issue completely new credentials.
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TIER: 2, 3
(9)

ACCESS ENFORCEMENT | CONTROLLED RELEASE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Information about the ICT supply chain should be controlled forrelease between the organizations. Information may be continuously exchanged between theorganization and its system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers. Controlled release oforganizational information provides protection to manage risks associated with disclosure.
TIER: 2, 3
AC-4

INFORMATION FLOW ENFORCEMENT
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Supply chain information may traverse a large ICT supply chain

infrastructure to a broad set of stakeholders including the organization and its various federal stakeholders,
as well as system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers. Requirements of information flow
enforcement should ensure that only the required information, and not more, is communicated to thevarious participants in the supply chain.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(6)

INFORMATION FLOW ENFORCEMENT | METADATA
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Metadata relevant to ICT SCRM is quite extensive and includes

activities within the SDLC. For example, information about systems and system components,
acquisition details, and delivery is considered metadata and should be appropriately protected.
Organizations should identify what metadata is directly relevant to their ICT supply chain security andensure that information flow enforcement is implemented in order to protect the metadata.
TIER: 2, 3(17) INFORMATION FLOW ENFORCEMENT | DOMAIN AUTHENTICATION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Within the ICT SCRM context, organizations should specify various

source and destination points for information about ICT supply chain and information that flows
through the supply chain. This is so that organizations have visibility of information flow within the
ICT supply chain infrastructure.
TIER: 2, 3(19) INFORMATION FLOW ENFORCEMENT | VALIDATION OF METADATA
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: For ICT SCRM, data and the relationship to its metadata and thevalidation of it become critical. Much of the data transmitted through the ICT supply chain
infrastructure is validated with the verification of the metadata that is bound to it. Ensuring that proper
filtering and inspection is put in place for validation before allowing payloads into the ICT supply
chain infrastructure.
TIER: 2, 3(21) INFORMATION FLOW ENFORCEMENT | PHYSICAL / LOGICAL SEPARATION OF INFORMATIONFLOWSSupplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should ensure the separation of the information

system and ICT supply chain infrastructure information flow. Various mechanisms can be
implemented including, for example, encryption methods (e.g., digital signing). Addressing
information flow between the organization and its system integrator, external service provider, or
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supplier may be challenging, especially when leveraging public networks. Organizations should ensure
that, at a minimum, protection measures are implemented for any appropriate data (e.g., component
data and any related metadata).
TIER: 3

AC-5

SEPERATION OF DUTIESSupplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should ensure that appropriate separation of duties isestablished for decisions requiring the acquisition of both information system and ICT supply chain
infrastructure components. Separation of duties helps to ensure that adequate protections are in place forcomponents entering the organization’s supply chain. An example may be separating technical decision
makers from the procurement personnel for deciding on components in the supply chain.
TIER: 2, 3
AC-6

LEAST PRIVILEGE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: ICT SCRM-specific supplemental guidance provided in control

enhancement AC-6 (6).
Control enhancements:(6)

LEAST PRIVILEGE | PRIVILEGED ACCESS BY NON-ORGANIZATIONAL USERS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should ensure that protections are in place to prevent

non-organizational users from having privileged access to organizational ICT supply chain
infrastructure and related supply chain information. When organizational users may include
independent consultants, system integrators, suppliers, and external services providers, relevant accessrequirements may need to be more precisely defined regarding which information and/or components
are accessible, for what duration, at which frequency, using which access methods, and by whom,using least privilege mechanisms. Understanding which components are critical and noncritical can aid
in understanding the level of detail that may need to be defined regarding least privilege access for
non-organizational users.
TIER: 2, 3
AC-17

REMOTE ACCESS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: With the push toward distributed approaches to accessing ICT supply

chain infrastructures, whether for development, maintenance, or operation of information systems,
organizations should implement secure remote access mechanisms and allow remote access only to vetted
personnel. Remote access to an organization’s ICT supply chain infrastructure (including distributed
software development environments) should be limited to the organization or system integrator personnel
as required to perform their tasks. Ensure that appropriate levels of remote access requirements are properly
defined (including agreements between organization and its system integrators).
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(6)

REMOTE ACCESS | PROTECTION OF INFORMATION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should ensure that detailed requirements are properly

defined and access to information regarding the information system and ICT supply chain
infrastructure is protected from unauthorized use and disclosure. Since supply chain data and metadata
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disclosure or access can have significant implications to an organization’s mission processes,
appropriate measures must be taken to vet both the ICT supply chain infrastructure and personnel
processes to ensure that adequate protections are implemented. Ensure that remote access to suchinformation is included in requirements.
TIER: 2, 3
AC-18

WIRELESS ACCESS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: An organization’s ICT supply chain infrastructure may include wirelessinfrastructure that supports supply chain logistics (e.g., Radio Frequency Identification Device [RFID]
support, software call home features). Supply chain systems/components traverse such ICT supply chain
infrastructures as they are moved from one location to another, whether within the organization’s own
environment or during delivery from system integrators or suppliers. Ensuring appropriate accessmechanisms are in place within this ICT supply chain infrastructure enables the protection of theinformation systems and components, as well as logistics technologies and metadata used during shipping(e.g., within tracking sensors). The organization should explicitly define appropriate wireless access control
mechanisms for the ICT supply chain infrastructure in policy and implement appropriate mechanisms.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
AC-19

ACCESS CONTROL FOR MOBILE DEVICES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Use of mobile devices has become common in ICT supply chain

infrastructure. They are used as mechanisms for tracking supply chain logistics data as information systems
and components traverse organization or systems integrator ICT supply chain infrastructure. Ensure thataccess control mechanisms are clearly defined and implemented where relevant when managing
organizations ICT supply chain components. An example of such an implementation includes access
control mechanisms implemented for use with remote handheld units in RFID for tracking components
traversing the supply chain as well as any associated data and metadata.
TIER: 2, 3
AC-20

USE OF EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations’ external information systems include those of system

integrators, suppliers, and external service providers. Unlike in an acquirer’s internal organization where
direct and continuous monitoring is possible, in the external supplier relationship, information may beshared on an as-needed basis and should be articulated in an agreement. Access to the ICT supply chain
infrastructure from such external information systems should be monitored and audited.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
Control enhancements:(1)

USE OF EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS | LIMITS ON AUTHORIZED USE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This enhancement helps limit exposure of the ICT supply chain

infrastructure to system integrator, supplier, and external service provider systems.
TIER: 2, 3
(3)

USE OF EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS | NON-ORGANIZATIONALLY OWNED SYSTEMS /COMPONENTS / DEVICES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Devices that do not belong to the organization increase theorganization’s exposure to ICT supply chain risks.
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AC-21

COLLABORATION AND INFORMATION SHARING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Sharing information within the ICT supply chain can help to manage ICT

supply chain risks. This information may include vulnerabilities, threats, criticality of systems andcomponents, or delivery information. This information sharing should be carefully managed to ensure thatthe information is accessible only to authorized individuals within the organization’s ICT supply chain.
Organizations should clearly define boundaries for information sharing with respect to temporal,
informational, contractual, security, access, system, and other requirements. Organizations should monitor
and review for unintentional or intentional information sharing within its ICT supply chain activities
including information sharing with system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers.
TIER: 1, 2
AC-22

PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE CONTENT
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Within the ICT SCRM context, publicly accessible content may include

Requests for Information, Requests for Proposal, or information about delivery of systems and components.
This information should be reviewed to ensure that only appropriate content is released for public
consumption, alone or in aggregation with other information.
TIER: 2, 3
AC-24

ACCESS CONTROL DECISIONS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should assign access control decisions to support authorizedaccesses to the ICT supply chain infrastructure. Ensure that if a system integrator or external service
provider is used, there is consistency in access control decision requirements and how the requirements are
implemented to deliver consistency in support of the organization’s supply chain needs. This may require
defining such requirements in service-level agreements in many cases as part of the upfront relationshipestablished between the organization and system integrator or the organization and external service
provider.
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: AWARENESS AND TRAINING[FIPS 200] specifies the Awareness and Training minimum security requirement as follows:
Organizations must: (i) ensure that managers and users of organizational information systems
are made aware of the security risks associated with their activities and of the applicable laws,
Executive Orders, directives, policies, standards, instructions, regulations, or procedures
related to the security of organizational information systems; and (ii) ensure thatorganizational personnel are adequately trained to carry out their assigned information
security-related duties and responsibilities.
NIST SP 800-161 expands the Awareness and Training control of FIPS 200 to include ICT SCRM.
Making the workforce aware of ICT SCRM concerns is key to a successful ICT SCRM strategy. ICTSCRM awareness and training provides understanding of the problem space and of the appropriate
processes and controls that can help mitigate ICT supply chain risk. Organizations should provide ICTSCRM awareness and training to individuals at all levels within the organization including, for example,
risk executive function, acquisition and contracting professionals, program managers, supply chain andlogistics professionals, shipping and receiving staff, information technology professionals, quality
professionals, mission and business owners, system owners, and information security engineers.
Organizations should also work with system integrators and external service providers to ensure that theirpersonnel that interact with an organization’s ICT supply chains receive appropriate ICT SCRM
awareness and training, as appropriate.
AT-1

SECURITY AWARENESS AND TRAINING POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should integrate ICT supply chain risk management training

and awareness into the security training and awareness policy. The ICT SCRM training should target boththe organization and its system integrators. The policy should ensure that ICT supply chain role-based
training is required for those individuals or functions that touch or impact the ICT supply chain
infrastructure, such as information system owner, acquisition, supply chain logistics, system engineering,
program management, IT, quality, and incident response.
ICT SCRM training procedures should address:a. Roles throughout the supply chain and system/element life cycle to limit opportunities and means
available to individuals performing these roles that could result in adverse consequences;b. Requirements for interaction between an organization’s personnel and individuals not employedby the organization that participate in the ICT supply chain throughout the SDLC; andc. Incorporating feedback and lessons learned from ICT SCRM activities into the ICT SCRM
training.
TIER: 1, 2
AT-3

ROLE-BASED SECURITY TRAINING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: ICT SCRM-specific supplemental guidance provided in control

enhancement.
Control enhancements:(2)

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Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: ICT SCRM is impacted by a number of physical security mechanisms

and procedures within the ICT supply chain infrastructure, such as manufacturing, shipping andreceiving, physical access to facilities, inventory management, and warehousing. Organization andsystem integrator personnel providing development and operational support to the organization should
receive training on how to handle these physical security mechanisms and on the associated ICT
supply chain risks.
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY[FIPS 200] specifies the Audit and Accountability minimum security requirement as follows:
Organizations must: (i) create, protect, and retain information system audit records to theextent needed to enable the monitoring, analysis, investigation, and reporting of unlawful,
unauthorized, or inappropriate information system activity; and (ii) ensure that the actions ofindividual information system users can be uniquely traced to those users so they can be held
accountable for their actions.
Audit and accountability controls for ICT SCRM provide information useful in case of an ICT supply
chain compromise. Organizations should ensure that they designate and audit ICT supply chain-relevant
events within their information system boundaries using appropriate audit mechanisms (e.g., system logs,
Intrusion Detection System (IDS) logs, firewall logs, paper reports, forms, clipboard checklists, digitalrecords). These audit mechanisms should also be configured to work within reasonable time-frameboundaries, as defined by organizational policy. Organizations may encourage their system integratorsand external service providers to do the same and may include in agreements requirements for suchmonitoring. However, organizations should not deploy audit mechanisms on systems outside of theirorganizational boundary, including those of system integrators and external service providers.
AU-1

AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Audit mechanisms provide data for tracking activities in an organization’s

ICT supply chain infrastructure. Audit and accountability policy and procedures should appropriately
address such tracking and its availability for other various ICT supply chain activities, such asconfiguration management. System integrator, supplier, and external service provider activities should not
be included in such policy, unless those are performed within the acquirer’s ICT supply chain
infrastructure.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
AU-2

AUDIT EVENTSSupplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: An observable occurrence within the information system or ICT supply

chain infrastructure should be identified as an ICT supply chain auditable event, based on theorganization’s SDLC context and requirements. Auditable events may include software/hardware changes,
failed attempts to access ICT supply chain infrastructure systems, or movement of source code. Information
on such events should be captured by appropriate audit mechanisms and should be traceable and verifiable.
Information captured may include type of event, date/time, length, and frequency of occurrence. Amongother things, auditing may help detect misuse of the ICT supply chain infrastructure caused by insider
threat.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
AU-6

AUDIT REVIEW, ANALYSIS, AND REPORTING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should ensure that both ICT supply chain andinformation security auditable events are appropriately filtered and correlated for analysis and reporting.
For example, if new maintenance or a patch upgrade is recognized to have an invalid digital signature, theidentification of the patch arrival qualifies as an ICT supply chain auditable event, while invalid signature
is an information security auditable event. The combination of these two events may provide information
valuable to ICT SCRM.
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Control enhancements:(9)

AUDIT REVIEW, ANALYSIS, AND REPORTING | CORRELATION WITH INFORMATION FROMNONTECHNICAL SOURCES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: In an ICT SCRM context, nontechnical sources include changes toorganizational security or operational policy, changes to procurement or contracting processes, andnotifications from system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers regarding plans to
update, enhance, patch, or retire/dispose of a system/component.
TIER: 3
AU-10

NON-REPUDIATION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should implement non-repudiation techniques to protect

both information systems and ICT supply chain infrastructure. Examples of what may require nonrepudiation include ICT supply chain metadata describing the components, ICT supply chaincommunication, delivery acceptance information, etc. For information systems, it can be patch or
maintenance upgrades for software as well as component replacement in a large hardware system.
Verifying that such components originate from the OEM is part of non-repudiation.
TIER: 3Control enhancements:(1)

NON-REPUDIATION | ASSOCIATION OF IDENTITIESSupplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This enhancement helps traceability in ICT supply chain. It also

facilitates the accuracy of provenance.
TIER: 2

(2)

NON-REPUDIATION | VALIDATE BINDING OF INFORMATION PRODCUER IDENTITIY
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This enhancement validates the relationship of provenance and thecomponent. Therefore, it ensures integrity of provenance.
TIER: 2, 3

(3)

NON-REPUDIATION | CHAIN OF CUSTODY
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Chain of custody is fundamental to provenance and traceability in the

ICT supply chain. It also helps verification of system and component integrity.
TIER: 2, 3
AU-12

AUDIT GENERATION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should ensure that audit generation mechanisms are in place

to capture all relevant supply chain auditable events. Examples of such events include: component version
updates, component approvals from acceptance testing results, logistics data-capturing inventory ortransportation information, etc.
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AU-13

MONITORING FOR INFORMATION DISCLOSURE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Within the ICT SCRM context, information disclosure may occur via

multiple avenues including open source information. For example, supplier-provided errata may reveal
information about an organization’s system that may provide insight into the system that increases the risk
to the system.
TIER: 2, 3
AU-16

CROSS-ORGANIZATIONAL AUDITING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: In an ICT SCRM context, this control includes the organization’s use of

system integrator or external service provider infrastructure.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(2)

CROSS-ORGANIZATIONAL AUDITING | SHARING OF AUDIT INFORMATION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Whether managing a distributed audit environment or an audit data-

sharing environment between organizations and its system integrators or external services providers,organizations should establish a set of requirements for the process of sharing audit information. In thecase of the system integrator and external service provider and the organization, a service-levelagreement of the type of audit data required vs. what can be provided must be agreed to in advance toensure that the organization obtains the relevant audit information needed for ensuring that appropriate
protections are in place to meet its mission operation protection needs. Ensure that coverage of bothinformation systems and ICT supply chain infrastructure are addressed for the collection and sharing ofaudit information.
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: SECURITY ASSESSMENT AND AUTHORIZATION[FIPS 200] specifies the Certification, Accreditation, and Security Assessments minimum security
requirement as follows:
Organizations must: (i) periodically assess the security controls in organizational information
systems to determine if the controls are effective in their application; (ii) develop andimplement plans of action designed to correct deficiencies and reduce or eliminate
vulnerabilities in organizational information systems; (iii) authorize the operation oforganizational information systems and any associated information system connections; and(iv) monitor information system security controls on an ongoing basis to ensure the continued
effectiveness of the controls.
Organizations should integrate ICT supply chain considerations, including the supply chain risk
management process and the use of relevant controls defined in this publication, into ongoing security
assessment and authorization activities. This includes activities to assess and authorize anorganization’s information systems and ICT supply chain infrastructure, as well as external assessmentsof system integrators and external service providers, where appropriate. ICT supply chain aspects
include documentation and tracking of chain of custody and system interconnections within andbetween organizations, verification of ICT supply chain security training, verification of suppliers
claims of conformance to security, product/component integrity, and validation tools and techniques fornoninvasive approaches to detect counterfeits or malware (e.g., Trojans) using inspection for genuine
components including manual inspection techniques.

CA-1

SECURITY ASSESSMENT AND AUTHORIZATION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Integrate the development and implementation of assessment andauthorization policies and procedures for ICT supply chain security into the security assessment andauthorization policy.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
CA-2

SECURITY ASSESSMENTS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Ensure that the security assessment plan incorporates relevant ICT SCRM

security controls and control enhancements. The security assessment should cover the assessment of bothinformation systems and the ICT supply chain infrastructure, and ensure that an organization-relevantbaseline set of controls and control enhancements are identified and used for the assessment.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(2)

SECURITY ASSESSMENTS | SPECIALIZED ASSESSMENTS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations may want to use a variety of assessment techniques andmethodologies such as continuous monitoring, insider threat assessment, and malicious user’s
assessment. These assessment mechanisms are context-specific and require the organization tounderstand its ICT supply chain infrastructure and to define the required set of measures for assessing
and verifying that appropriate protections have been implemented.
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SECURITY ASSESSMENTS | EXTERNAL ORGANIZATIONS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: For ICT SCRM, organizations should consider using external security

assessments for system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers. External assessments
include certifications and third-party assessments, such as those driven by organizations such as theInternational Organization for Standardization (ISO), the National Information Assurance Partnership(Common Criteria), and The Open Group Trusted Technology Forum (OTTF), if such certifications
meet agency needs.
TIER: 3CA-3

SYSTEM INTERCONNECTIONS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Interconnected information systems and mission operations require

scrutiny from a supply chain perspective. This includes understanding the connections of thosecomponents/systems that are directly interconnected with system integrators, external service providers,
and, in some cases, suppliers. Ensure that proper service-level agreements are in place to ensurecompliance to interconnect requirements defined by the organization. Examples of such connections can
include:a.
b.
c.

A shared development and operational environment between the organization and system
integrator;
Product update/patch management connection to an off-the-shelf supplier; andData request and retrieval transactions in a processing system residing on an external service
provider shared environment.

TIER: 3Control enhancements:(3)

INFORMATION SYSTEM INTERCONNECTIONS | UNCLASSIFIED NON-NATIONAL SECURITY SYSTEMCONNECTIONS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization ensures that any connections within their ICT supply

chain infrastructure, including any connections to their system integrator and external service provider
infrastructures, are appropriately protected with boundary protection mechanisms including strict
mediation of communications across the organization and its supply chain. Any information sharing
across these boundaries needs to be vetted and mediated to ensure appropriate sharing practices thatmeet the organization’s information-sharing policies.
TIER: 3
(4)

SYSTEM INTERCONNECTIONS | CONNECTIONS TO PUBLIC NETWORKS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should ensure that system integrators and external

service providers within their ICT supply chain infrastructure appropriately protect connections topublic networks. Implement appropriate processes for review and inspection, evidence gathering, andincident management.
TIER: 3
(5)

INFORMATION SYSTEM INTERCONNECTIONS | RESTRICTIONS ON EXTERNAL SYSTEMCONNECTIONS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should ensure that the system integrators and external

service providers within their ICT supply chain infrastructure appropriately protect connections toexternal information systems. Implement appropriate processes for review and inspection, evidence
gathering, and incident management. Ensure that configurations at the external boundaries and the
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interfaces through which organizations are communicating with their system integrators, suppliers, andexternal service providers are monitored and audited periodically.
TIER: 3
CA-5

PLAN OF ACTION AND MILESTONES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations need to ensure that their plan of actions and milestones

include both information systems and the ICT supply chain infrastructure. The organization should include
in its plan of actions and milestones relevant weaknesses, impact of weaknesses on information systems or
the ICT supply chain infrastructure, any remediation to address weaknesses, and any continuous monitoring
activities.
TIER: 2, 3
CA-6

SECURITY AUTHORIZATIONS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Authorizing officials should include ICT supply chain considerations inauthorization decisions. To accomplish this, ICT supply chain risks and compensating controls documented
in ICT SCRM Plans or system security plans should be included in the decision-making process. Risks
should be determined and associated compensating controls selected based on output from criticality,
threat, and vulnerability analyses.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
CA-7

CONTINUOUS MONITORING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: For ICT SCRM-specific guidance on this control, see Chapter 2.2.4 of thispublication.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
Control enhancements:(3)

CONTINUOUS MONITORING | TREND ANALYSES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Information gathered during continuous monitoring/trend analysis

serves as input into ICT SCRM decisions including criticality analysis, vulnerability and threat
analysis, and risk assessment. It also provides information that can be used in incident response andpotentially can identify an ICT supply chain compromise, including insider threat.
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT[FIPS 200] specifies the Configuration Management minimum security requirement as follows:
Organizations must: (i) establish and maintain baseline configurations and inventories oforganizational information systems (including hardware, software, firmware, anddocumentation) throughout the respective system development life cycles; and (ii) establish andenforce security configuration settings for information technology products employed inorganizational information systems.
Configuration Management helps track systems, components, and documentation within the ICT supply
chain infrastructure. This is important for knowing what changes were made to those systems,
components, and documentation, who made the changes, and who authorized the changes. Basically,
configuration management provides the tools to establish the chain of custody for systems, components,
and documentation. Configuration management also provides evidence for ICT supply chain compromise
investigations when determining which changes were authorized and which were not, which can provide
useful information. Organizations should apply configuration management controls to their own systems
and encourage use of configuration management controls by their system integrators, suppliers, andexternal service providers.
CM-1

CONFIGURATION MANGEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Configuration management impacts nearly every aspect of the ICT supply

chain infrastructure. When defining configuration management policy and procedures, organizations should
address the full SDLC. This should include procedures for introducing and removing components to andfrom the organization’s information system boundary. Configuration Management policy should consider
configuration items, data retention for configuration items and corresponding metadata, and tracking of theconfiguration item and its metadata. The organization should coordinate with system integrators andexternal service providers regarding the configuration management policy.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
CM-2

BASELINE CONFIGURATION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should establish a baseline configuration of both theinformation system and the ICT supply chain infrastructure including documenting, formally reviewing,
and securing the agreement of stakeholders. The baseline configuration must take into consideration theorganization’s operational environment and any relevant system integrator, supplier, and external service
provider involvement within the organization’s ICT supply chain infrastructure. If the system integrator, forexample, uses the existing organization’s infrastructure, appropriate measures should be taken to establish abaseline that reflects an appropriate set of agreed-upon criteria for access and operation.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(1)

BASELINE CONFIGURATION | REVIEWS AND UPDATESSupplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Regular reviews and updates of baseline configurations are critical for

traceability and provenance.
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BASELINE CONFIGURATION | DEVELOPMENT AND TEST ENVIRONMENTS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should maintain a baseline configuration of system

integrators’ and external service providers’ development and test environments within the ICT supply
chain infrastructure as well as the configuration of interfaces with system integrators, external service
providers, and, in some cases, suppliers.
TIER: 2, 3
CM-3

CONFIGURATION CHANGE CONTROL
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should determine, implement, monitor, and audit

configuration settings and change controls within the ICT supply chain infrastructure. This control supports
traceability for ICT SCRM. NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 control enhancements CM-3 (1), (2), and (4) aremechanisms that can be used for ICT SCRM to collect and manage change control data.
TIER: 2, 3
CM-4

SECURITY IMPACT ANALYSIS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should take under consideration changes to the information

system and ICT supply chain infrastructure to determine whether the impact of these changes warrants
additional protection to maintain an acceptable level of ICT supply chain risk. Ensure that stakeholders
such as system engineers and system security engineers are included in the impact analysis activities toprovide their perspectives for ICT SCRM. NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 control enhancement CM-4 (1) is amechanism that can be used to protect the information system and ICT supply chain infrastructure fromvulnerabilities that may be introduced through the test environment.
TIER: 3
CM-5

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS FOR CHANGE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should ensure that requirements regarding physical andlogical access restrictions for changes to the information system or the ICT supply chain infrastructure aredefined and included in the organization’s implementation of access restrictions. Examples include access
restriction for changes to centrally managed processes for software component updates and the deploymentof updates or patches.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(1)

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS FOR CHANGE | AUTOMATED ACCESS ENFORCEMENT / AUDITING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should implement mechanisms to ensure automatedaccess enforcement and auditing of the information system and ICT supply chain infrastructure.
TIER: 3
(2)

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS FOR CHANGE | REVIEW SYSTEM CHANGESSupplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should define a set of system changes that are critical tothe protection of the information system and ICT supply chain infrastructure. These changes may be
defined based on a criticality analysis (including components, processes, and functions) and where
vulnerabilities exist that are not yet remediated (e.g., due to resource constraints).
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ACCESS RESTRICTIONS FOR CHANGE | SIGNED COMPONENTS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This control aids in verifying that the acquired ICT components(hardware or software) are genuine and valid.
TIER: 3
(6)

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS FOR CHANGE | LIMIT LIBRARY PRIVILEGES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should note that software libraries may be considered

configuration items, access to which should be managed and controlled.
TIER: 3
CM-6

CONFIGURATION SETTINGS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should oversee the function of modifying configuration

settings for their ICT supply chain infrastructure. Methods of oversight include periodic verification,
reporting, and review. Resulting information may be shared with various parties within the ICT supply
chain infrastructure on a need-to-know basis. Changes should be tested and approved before they are
implemented. Configuration settings should be monitored and audited to alert designated organizational
personnel when a change has occurred.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(1)

CONFIGURATION SETTINGS | AUTOMATED CENTRAL MANAGEMENT / APPLICATION /VERIFICATION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should employ automated mechanisms within the

ICT supply chain infrastructure to manage, apply, and verify configuration settings.
TIER: 3
(2)

CONFIGURATION SETTINGS | RESPOND TO UNAUTHORIZED CHANGESSupplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should ensure that designated security or IT

personnel are alerted regarding unauthorized changes to the ICT supply chain infrastructure
configuration settings. For a more comprehensive view, a specific, predefined set of ICT SCRM
stakeholders should assess the ICT SCRM impact of unauthorized changes in the ICT supply chain.
When impact is assessed, relevant stakeholders should help define and implement appropriate
mitigation strategies to ensure a comprehensive resolution.
TIER: 3
CM-7

LEAST FUNCTIONALITY
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Least functionality reduces the attack surface of ICT supply chain risks.

Organizations should select components that allow the flexibility and option for specifying andimplementing least functionality.
TIER: 3Control enhancements:(4)

LEAST FUNCTIONALITY | UNAUTHORIZED SOFTWARE/BLACKLISTING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should define requirements and deploy appropriate

processes to specify software that is not allowed. This can be aided by defining a requirement to notuse disreputable software.
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TIER: 2, 3
(5)LEAST FUNCTIONALITY | AUTHORIZED SOFTWARE/WHITELISTING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should define requirements and deploy appropriate

processes to specify allowable software. This can be aided by defining a requirement to use only
reputable software. This can include requirements for alerts when new software and updates tosoftware are introduced into the organization’s environment. An example of such requirements is toallow open source software only if the code is available for an organization’s evaluation.
TIER: 3
CM-8

INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should ensure that critical component assets within theinformation system and ICT supply chain infrastructure are included in the asset inventory. The inventory
should include information for critical component accountability including licensing, version numbers,
supplier, system owner, machine names, network addresses, etc.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(1)

INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY | UPDATES DURING INSTALLATIONS / REMOVALS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: When installing, updating or removing an information system or ICT

supply chain infrastructure component, the organization needs to update the inventory to ensure
traceability for tracking critical components. In addition, the information system’s configuration needs
to be updated to ensure an accurate inventory of supply chain protections.
TIER: 3
(2)

INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY | AUTOMATED MAINTENANCE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should implement automated maintenancemechanisms to ensure that changes to component inventory for the information system and ICT supply
chain infrastructure are monitored for installation, update, and removal. When automated maintenanceis performed with a predefined frequency and with the automated collation of relevant inventory
information about each defined component, the organization should ensure that updates are available torelevant stakeholders for evaluation. Predefined frequencies for data collection should be lesspredictable in order to reduce the risk of an insider threat bypassing security mechanisms.
TIER: 3
(4)

INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY | ACCOUNTABILITY INFORMATION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should ensure that accountability information iscollected for information system and ICT supply chain infrastructure components. The
system/component inventory information should identify those individuals who originate anacquisition as well as intended end users, including any associated personnel who may administer or
use the system/components.
TIER: 3
(6)

INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY | ASSESSED CONFIGURATIONS / APPROVED
DEVIATIONS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Assessed configurations and approved deviations must be documented

and tracked. Any changes to the baseline configurations of ICT supply chain infrastructure require a
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review by relevant stakeholders to ensure that the changes do not result in increased ICT supply chainrisk.
TIER: 3
(7)

INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY | CENTRALIZED REPOSITORY
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations may choose to implement centralized inventories that

include components from all organizational information systems including the ICT supply chain
infrastructure and information system components. Centralized repositories of inventories provide
opportunities for efficiencies in accounting for ICT supply chain infrastructure and information systemcomponents. Such repositories may also help organizations to rapidly identify the location andresponsible individuals of components that have been compromised, breached, or are otherwise in needof mitigation actions. The organization should ensure that centralized inventories include supply chainspecific information required for proper component accountability (e.g., supply chain relevance and
ICT supply chain infrastructure or system component owner).
TIER: 3
(8)

INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY | AUTOMATED LOCATION TRACKING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: When employing automated mechanisms for tracking of information

system components by geographic location, the organization should take into consideration
information system and ICT supply chain infrastructure tracking needs to ensure accurate supply chain
component inventory.
TIER: 2, 3
(9)

INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY | ASSIGNMENT OF COMPONENTS TO SYSTEMS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: When assigning components to systems, the organization should

ensure that the information system and the ICT supply chain infrastructure with all relevant
components are inventoried, marked, and properly assigned. This facilitates quick inventory of allcomponents relevant to information systems and the ICT supply chain infrastructure and enables
tracking of components that are considered critical and require differentiating treatment as part of theinformation system and ICT supply chain infrastructure protection activities.
TIER: 3
CM-9

CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should ensure that ICT SCRM considerations areincorporated into the configuration management planning activities.
TIER: 2, 3.
Control enhancements:(1)

CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT PLAN | ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should ensure that all relevant roles are defined toaddress configuration management activities for ICT information systems and the ICT supply chain
infrastructure. Organizations should consider whether the following ICT supply chain activities areappropriately included in the configuration management plan: development, test, market analysis,
Request for Proposal development and review/approval, procurement, integration, sustainment, andmaintenance.
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SOFTWARE USAGE RESTRICTIONS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should ensure that licenses for software used within their

ICT supply chain infrastructure are tracked and maintained.
Control enhancements:(1)

SOFTWARE USAGE RESTRICTIONS | OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: When considering software, organizations should review all options

and corresponding risks including open source or commercially licensed components. When using
open source software (OSS), the organization should understand and review the open source
communities’ typical procedures regarding provenance, configuration management, sources, binaries,
reusable frameworks, reusable libraries’ availability for testing and use, and any other information that
may impact ICT supply chain risk. Numerous open source solutions are currently in use byorganizations, including in integrated development environments (IDEs) and web servers. The
organization should:a) Track the use of OSS and associated documentation;b) Ensure that the use of OSS adheres to the licensing terms;c) Document and monitor the distribution of software as it relates to licensing agreement tocontrol copying and distribution; andd) Evaluate and periodically audit the OSS’s ICT supply chain as provided by the open source
developer (e.g., information regarding provenance, configuration management, use of
reusable libraries, etc.). This evaluation can be done reasonably easily by the organization
through obtaining existing and often public documents as well as using experience based on
software update and download processes in which the organization may have participated.
TIER: 2, 3
CM-11

USER-INSTALLED SOFTWARE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This enhancement extends to organizational information system users

within the ICT supply chain infrastructure who are not employed by the organization. These users may besystem integrators, suppliers, or external service providers.
TIER: 2, 3

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: CONTINGENCY PLANNING[FIPS 200] specifies the Contingency Planning minimum security requirement as follows:
Organizations must establish, maintain, and effectively implement plans for emergency
response, backup operations, and post-disaster recovery for organizational information
systems to ensure the availability of critical information resources and continuity of operations
in emergency situations.
ICT supply chain concerns of contingency planning include planning for alternative suppliers of systemcomponents, alternative suppliers of systems and services, denial of service attacks to the supply chain,and planning for alternate delivery routes for critical system components. Additionally, many techniques
used for contingency planning, such as alternative processing sites, have their own ICT supply chains
including their own specific ICT supply chain risks. Organizations should ensure that they understand andmanage ICT supply chain risks and dependencies related to the contingency planning activities asnecessary.
CP-1

CONTIGENCY PLANNING POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should integrate ICT supply chain concerns into thecontingency planning policy. The policy should cover ICT information systems and the ICT supply chain
infrastructure and address:
a. Unplanned component failure and subsequent replacement;b. Planned replacement related to feature improvements, maintenance, upgrades, and modernization;
andc. Product unavailability.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
CP-2

CONTIGENCY PLAN
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should define and implement a contingency plan for the

ICT supply chain infrastructure so that there is no loss of data or operations. Contingencies should be put inplace for the ICT supply chain infrastructure (including processes) and information systems (especiallycritical components) to ensure protection against compromise and to provide appropriate failover.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(2)

CONTINGENCY PLAN | CAPACITY PLANNING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This enhancement helps availability of the ICT supply chain

infrastructure or information system components.
TIER: 2, 3
(7)

CONTINGENCY PLAN | COORDINATE WITH EXTERNAL SERVICE PROVIDERS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should ensure that information systems and ICT supply

chain infrastructure components provided by an external service provider have appropriate failover toreduce service interruption. Organizations should ensure that contingency planning requirements aredefined as part of the service-level agreement. The agreement may have specific terms addressing
critical components and functionality support in case of denial of service to ensure continuity of
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operation. Organizations should coordinate with external service providers to identify service
providers’ existing contingency plan practices and build on them as required by the organization’s
mission and business needs. Such coordination will aid in cost reduction and efficient implementation.
TIER: 3
(8)

CONTINGENCY PLAN | IDENTIFY CRITICAL ASSETS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Ensure that critical assets (including hardware, software, andpersonnel) are identified to ensure that appropriate contingency planning requirements are defined andapplied to ensure continuity of operation. A key step in this process is to complete a criticality analysis
on components, functions, and processes to identify all critical assets. See Chapter 2, Criticality
Analysis.
TIER: 3
CP-6

ALTERNATE STORAGE SITE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: When managed by system integrators or external service providers,alternate storage sites are considered within an organization’s ICT supply chain infrastructure.
Organizations should apply appropriate ICT supply chain controls to those storage sites.
TIER: 2, 3
(1)

ALTERNATE STORAGE SITE | SEPARATION FROM PRIMARY SITE

Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This enhancement helps resiliency of ICT supply chain infrastructure.
TIER: 2, 3
CP-7

ALTERNATE PROCESSING SITE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: When managed by system integrators or external service providers,alternate storage sites are considered within an organization’s ICT supply chain infrastructure.
Organizations should apply appropriate ICT supply chain controls to those processing sites.
TIER: 2, 3
CP-8

TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should consider alternate telecommunication service

providers for their ICT supply chain infrastructure and to support critical information systems.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(3)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES | SEPARATION OF PRIMARY / ALTERNATE PROVIDERS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Separation of primary and alternate providers supports ICT supply

chain resilience.
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES | PROVIDER CONTINGENCY PLAN
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: For ICT SCRM, system integrator and external service provider

contingency plans should provide separation in infrastructure, service, process, and personnel, whereappropriate.
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION[FIPS 200] specifies the Identification and Authentication minimum security requirement as follows:
Organizations must identify information system users, processes acting on behalf of users, or
devices and authenticate (or verify) the identities of those users, processes, or devices, as aprerequisite to allowing access to organizational information systems.
NIST SP 800-161, Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal Information Systems andOrganizations, expands the FIPS 200 identification and authentication control family to include
identification and authentication of components, in addition to individuals (users) and processes acting on
behalf of individuals within the ICT supply chain infrastructure. Identification and authentication is
critical for ICT SCRM because it provides traceability of individuals, processes acting on behalf ofindividuals, and specific systems/components in an organization’s ICT supply chain infrastructure.
Identification and authentication is required to appropriately manage ICT supply chain risks to both
reduce risks of ICT supply chain compromise and to help have needed evidence in case of ICT supply
chain compromise.
IA-1

IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENCITCATION POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should enhance their identity and access management

policies to ensure that critical roles within the ICT supply chain infrastructure are defined and that theorganization's critical systems, components, and processes are identified for traceability. This should
include the identity of critical components that may not have been considered under identification andauthentication in the past. Note that providing identification for all items within the supply chain would becost-prohibitive, and discretion should be used.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
IA-2

IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION (ORGANIZATIONAL USERS)
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should ensure that identification and authentication isdefined for organizational users accessing the information system or ICT supply chain infrastructure. An
organizational user may include employees as well as individuals deemed to have the equivalent status of
employees (e.g., contractors, guest researchers, etc.) and may include system integrators fulfilling
contractor roles. Criteria such as “duration in role” can aid in defining which identification andauthentication mechanisms are used. The organization may choose to define a set of roles and associate alevel of authorization to ensure proper implementation.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
IA-4

IDENTIFIER MANAGEMENT
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Identifiers allow for greater traceability. Within the organization's supply

chain infrastructure, identifiers should be assigned to systems, individuals, documentation, devices, andcomponents. In some cases, identifiers may be maintained throughout a system's life cycle, from concept toretirement, but at a minimum throughout the system's life within the organization.
For software development, identifiers should be assigned for those components that have achieved
configuration item recognition. For devices and operational systems, identifiers should be assigned when
the items enter the organization’s ICT supply chain infrastructure, such as when they are transferred to theorganization’s ownership or control through shipping and receiving or via download.

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System integrators, suppliers, and external service providers typically use their own identifiers for tracking
within their own ICT supply chain infrastructures. Organizations should correlate those identifiers with theorganization-assigned identifiers for traceability and accountability. NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 control
IA-3 enhancements (4) and (5) are mechanisms that can be used to manage identities.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(6)

IDENTIFIER MANAGEMENT | CROSS-ORGANIZATION MANAGEMENT
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This enhancement helps traceability and provenance of elements

within the ICT supply chain infrastructure, through the coordination of identifier management among
the organization and its system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers. This includes
information systems and components as well as individuals engaged in ICT supply chain infrastructure
activities.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
IA-5

AUTHENTICATOR MANAGEMENT
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This control facilitates traceability and non-repudiation throughout the

ICT supply chain infrastructure.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(5)

AUTHENTICATOR MANAGEMENT | CHANGE AUTHENTICATORS PRIOR TO DELIVERY
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This enhancement provides verification of chain of custody within theorganization’s ICT supply chain infrastructure.
TIER: 3(9)

AUTHENTICATOR MANAGEMENT | CROSS-ORGANIZATION CREDENTIAL MANGEMENT
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This enhancement facilitates provenance and chain of custody within

the organization’s ICT supply chain infrastructure.
TIER: 3
IA-8

IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION (NON-ORGANIZATIONAL USERS)
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: System integrators, external services providers, and suppliers have thepotential to engage the organization’s ICT supply chain infrastructure for service delivery(development/integration services, product support, etc.). Organizations should manage the establishment,
auditing, use, and revocation of identification and authentication of non-organizational users within the ICT
supply chain infrastructure. Organizations should ensure promptness in performing identification andauthentication activities, especially in the case of revocation management, to help mitigate against ICT
supply chain risks such as insider threat.
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: INCIDENT RESPONSE[FIPS 200] specifies the Incident Response minimum security requirement as follows:
Organizations must: (i) establish an operational incident handling capability for organizational
information systems that includes adequate preparation, detection, analysis, containment,
recovery, and user response activities; and (ii) track, document, and report incidents toappropriate organizational officials and/or authorities.
ICT supply chain compromises may span the acquirer, system integrators, suppliers, and external service
provider systems and organizations. Organizations should ensure that their incident response controls
address ICT supply chain concerns including how information about incidents will be shared with system
integrators, suppliers, and external service integrators. Incident response will help determine whether anincident is related to the ICT supply chain.
IR-1

INCIDENT RESPONSE POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should integrate ICT SCRM considerations into incident

response policy and procedures. ICT supply chain-related incidents and those cybersecurity incidents that
may complicate or impact ICT supply chain concerns must be defined in the policy. Individuals working
within specific mission and system environments need to recognize ICT supply chain-related incidents.
Incident response policy should state when and how incidents should be handled, reported, and managed.
Additionally, the policy should define when, how, and with whom to communicate (i.e., stakeholders orpartners) within the broader ICT supply chain in the event of an incident. Bidirectional communication
with ICT supply chain partners should be defined in agreements with system integrators, suppliers, andexternal service providers to inform all involved parties of an ICT supply chain incident. Incident
information may also be shared with organizations such as the FBI, US CERT (United States Computer
Emergency Readiness Team), and the NCCIC (National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration
Center) as appropriate. Depending on the severity of the incident, the need for accelerated communications
up and down the supply chain may be necessary. Appropriate agreements should be put in place withsystem integrators, suppliers, and external service providers to ensure speed of communication, response,
corrective actions, and other related activities.
In Tiers 2 and 3, procedures and organization-specific incident response methods must be in place, training
completed (consider including IPSec and any appropriate threat briefing in training), and coordinatedcommunication established throughout the ICT supply chain infrastructure to ensure an efficient andcoordinated incident response effort.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
IR-4

INCIDENT HANDLING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: ICT SCRM-specific supplemental guidance provided in control

enhancements.
Control enhancements:(6)

INCIDENT HANDLING | INSIDER THREATS - SPECIFIC CAPABILITIESSupplemental Guidance: This enhancement helps limit exposure of the ICT SCRM infrastructure to

insider threats.
TIER: 1, 2, 3

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INCIDENT HANDLING | INSIDER THREATS - INTRA-ORGANIZATION COORDINATION
Supplemental Guidance: This enhancement helps limit exposure of ICT SCRM infrastructure to insider

threats.
TIER: 1, 2, 3(10) INCIDENT HANDLING | SUPPLY CHAIN COORDINATION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: A number of organizations may be involved in managing incidents

and responses for supply chain security. After an initial processing of the incident is completed and adecision is made to take action (in some cases, the action may be “no action”), the organization may
need to coordinate with their system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers to facilitatecommunications, incident response, root cause, and corrective actions activities. Organizations should
securely share information through a coordinated set of personnel in key roles to allow for a morecomprehensive incident handling approach. Selecting system integrators, suppliers, and external
service providers with mature capabilities for supporting ICT supply chain incident handling isimportant for reducing ICT supply chain risk. If transparency for incident handling is limited due to thenature of the relationship, define a set of acceptable criteria in the agreement (e.g., contract). A review(and potential revision) of the agreement is recommended, based on the lessons learned from previous
incidents.
TIER: 2
IR-6

INCIDENT REPORTING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: ICT SCRM-specific supplemental guidance provided in control

enhancement IR-6 (3).
Control enhancements:(3)

INCIDENT REPORTING | COORDINATION WITH SUPPLY CHAIN
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Communications of security incident information from theorganization to system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers or vice-verse requires
protection. The organization should ensure that information is reviewed and approved for sending
based on its agreements with the suppliers. Any escalation of or exception from this reporting should
be clearly defined in the agreement. The organization should ensure that incident reporting data isadequately protected for transmission and received by approved individuals only.
TIER: 3
IR-9

INFORMATION SPILLAGE RESPONSE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The ICT supply chain is vulnerable to information spillage. The

organization should include ICT supply chain-related information spills in its information spillage response
plan. This may require coordination with system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers. The
details of how this coordination is to be conducted should be included in the agreement (e.g., contract). See
SA-4.
TIER: 3

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: MAINTENANCE[FIPS 200] specifies the Maintenance minimum security requirement as follows:
Organizations must: (i) perform periodic and timely maintenance on organizational
information systems; and (ii) provide effective controls on the tools, techniques, mechanisms,
and personnel used to conduct information system maintenance.
Maintenance is frequently performed by an entity that is different from the organization. As such,
maintenance becomes part of the ICT supply chain. Maintenance includes performing updates andreplacements. This document can be applied to a maintenance situation including assessing the ICT
supply chain risks, selecting ICT SCRM controls, implementing these controls, and monitoring them.
MA-1

SYSTEM MAINTENANCE POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should ensure that ICT supply chain concerns are included

in maintenance policies and procedures for all organizational information systems and the ICT supply chain
infrastructure. With many maintenance contracts, information on mission, organization, and systemspecific objectives and requirements is shared between the organization and its system integrators,
suppliers, or external service providers, allowing for vulnerabilities and opportunities for attack. In manycases, the maintenance of systems is outsourced to a system integrator and as such, appropriate measures
must be taken. Even when maintenance is not outsourced, the upgrades and patches, frequency ofmaintenance, replacement parts, and other aspects of system maintenance are affected by the supply chain.
Maintenance policies should be defined both for the information system and the ICT supply chain
infrastructure. The maintenance policy should reflect controls based on a risk assessment (including
criticality analysis), including controls such as remote access, roles and attributes of maintenance personnel
that have access, the frequency of updates, duration of contract, logistical path used for updates ormaintenance, and monitoring and audit mechanisms. The maintenance policy should state which tools are
explicitly allowed or not allowed. For example, in the case of software maintenance, source code, test
cases, and other item accessibility to maintain a system or components should be stated in the contract.
Maintenance policies should be refined and augmented at each tier. At Tier 1, the policy should define
allowed maintenance activities. At Tier 2, the policy should reflect the mission operation’s needs andcritical functions. At Tier 3 it should reflect the specific system needs. The requirements in Tier 1, such as
nonlocal maintenance, should flow to Tiers 2 and 3; for example, when nonlocal maintenance is notallowed by Tier 1, it should also not be allowed at Tiers 2 and 3.
TIER: 1, 2, 3

MA-2

CONTROLLED MAINTENANCE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: ICT SCRM-specific supplemental guidance is provided in control

enhancement MA-2 (2).
Control enhancements:(2)

CONTROLLED MAINTENANCE |AUTOMATED MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIESSupplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should ensure that all automated maintenance activities

for the ICT supply chain infrastructure are controlled and managed according to the maintenancepolicy. Examples of automated maintenance activities can include COTS product patch updates, call
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home features with failure notification feedback, etc. Managing these activities may requireestablishing staging processes with appropriate supporting mechanisms to provide vetting or filtering
as appropriate. Staging processes may be especially important for critical systems and components.
TIER: 3MA-3

MAINTENANCE TOOLS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Maintenance tools are considered part of the ICT supply chain

infrastructure. They also have an ICT supply chain of their own. ICT SCRM should be considered when theorganization acquires or upgrades a maintenance tool (e.g., an update to development environment or
testing tool), including during the selection, ordering, storage, and integration of the maintenance tool. The
organization should also consider ICT SCRM when evaluating replacement parts for maintenance tools.
This control may be performed at both Tiers 2 and 3, depending on how an agency handles the acquisition,
operations, and oversight of maintenance tools.
TIER: 2, 3.
Control enhancements:(1)

MAINTENANCE TOOLS | INSPECT TOOLS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should deploy acceptance testing to verify that themaintenance tools of the ICT supply chain infrastructure are as expected. Maintenance tools should be
authorized with appropriate paperwork, verified as claimed through initial verification, and tested forstated functionality.
TIER: 3
(2)

MAINTENANCE TOOLS | INSPECT MEDIA
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should verify that the media containing diagnostic

and test programs of the ICT supply chain infrastructure are as expected and provide only required
functions. Media should be authorized with appropriate paperwork, verified as claimed through initial
verification, and tested for stated functionality.
TIER: 3
(3)

MAINTENANCE TOOLS | PREVENT UNAUTHORIZED REMOVAL
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Unauthorized removal of ICT maintenance tools from the ICT supply

chain infrastructure may introduce ICT supply chain risk including, for example, unauthorized
modification, replacement with counterfeit, or malware insertion while the tool is outside of theorganization’s control. ICT maintenance tools can include integrated development environment (IDE),
testing, or vulnerability scanning. For ICT SCRM, it is important that organizations should explicitly
authorize, track, and audit any removal of maintenance tools. Once ICT tools are allowed access to anorganization/information system, they should remain the property/asset of the information systemowner and tracked if removed and used elsewhere in the organization. ICT maintenance tools either
currently in use or in storage should not be allowed to leave the organization’s premises until they areproperly vetted for removal.
TIER: 3MA-4

NONLOCAL MAINTENANCE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Nonlocal maintenance may be provided by system integrators or external

service providers. Appropriate protections should be in place to manage associated risks.
TIER: 2, 3
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Control enhancements:(2)

NONLOCAL MAINTENANCE | DOCUMENT NONLOCAL MAINTENANCE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should document types of maintenance tools which

may or may not be used nonlocally and verify that the maintenance tools used are as expected andprovide only required functions (e.g., by using acceptance testing). Maintenance tools should be
authorized with appropriate paperwork, verified as claimed through initial verification, and tested forstated functionality.
TIER: 2, 3
(3)

NONLOCAL MAINTENANCE | COMPARABLE SECURITY / SANITIZATION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Should any nonlocal maintenance or diagnostic services be performed

to ICT components or information systems by a system integrator, supplier, or external service
provider, the organization should ensure that: Appropriate measures are taken to verify that the nonlocal environment meets appropriate
security levels for maintenance and diagnostics per agreements between the organization andvendor; Appropriate levels of sanitizing are completed to remove any organization-specific data
residing in components; and Appropriate diagnostics are completed to ensure that components are sanitized, preventing
malicious insertion prior to returning to the organizational information system and or ICT
supply chain infrastructure.
TIER: 2, 3
MA-5

MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Maintenance personnel may be employed by a system integrator, supplier,or external service provider. As such, appropriate protections should be in place to manage associated risks.
TIER: 2, 3
MA-6

TIMELY MAINTENANCE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: For spare parts, replacement parts, or alternate sources, the organization

should ensure appropriate lead times to purchase through original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) or
authorized distributors. If OEMs are not available, it is preferred to acquire from authorized distributors. If
an OEM or an authorized distributor is not available and the only alternative is to purchase from a nonauthorized distributor or secondary market, a risk assessment should be performed, including a revisit ofcriticality and threat analysis to identify additional risk mitigations to be used. For example, theorganization should check the source of supply for history of counterfeits, inappropriate practices, or acriminal record. See Chapter 2 for criticality and threat analysis details.
TIER: 3
MA-7

MAINTENANCE MONITORING AND INFORMATION SHARING
Control: The organization monitors the status of systems and components, and communicates out-of-bounds

and out-of-spec performance to [Assignment: organization-defined system integrators, suppliers, orexternal service providers].
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Tracking failure rates of components provides useful information to theacquirer to help plan for contingencies, alternate sources of supply, and replacements. Failure rates are also
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useful for monitoring quality and reliability of systems and components. This information provides usefulfeedback to system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers for corrective action andcontinuous improvement. In Tier 2, agencies should track and communicate the failure rates to suppliers(OEM and/or an authorized distributor). The failure rates and the issues that can indicate failures including
root causes should be identified by an agency’s technical personnel (e.g., developers, administrators, ormaintenance engineers) in Tier 3 and communicated to Tier 2. These individuals are able to verify the
problem and identify technical alternatives.
Related Control: IR-4(10)
TIER: 3

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: MEDIA PROTECTION[FIPS 200] specifies the Media Protection minimum security requirement as follows:
Organizations must: (i) protect information system media, both paper and digital; (ii) limit
access to information on information system media to authorized users; and (iii) sanitize ordestroy information system media before disposal or release for reuse.
Media itself can be a component traversing the ICT supply chain or containing information about theorganization’s ICT supply chain. This includes both physical and logical media including, for example,
system documentation on paper or in electronic files, shipping and delivery documentation with acquirer
information, memory sticks with software code, or complete routers or servers that include permanent
media. The information contained on the media may be sensitive or proprietary information. Additionally,
the media is used throughout the SDLC, from concept to disposal. Organizations should ensure that theMedia Protection controls are applied to both an organization’s media and the media received fromsystem integrators, suppliers, and external service providers throughout the SDLC.
MP-1

MEDIA PROTECTION POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: A number of documents and information on a variety of physical andelectronic media is disseminated throughout the ICT supply chain. This information may contain a variety
of sensitive information and intellectual property from the acquirer, system integrator, supplier, andexternal service provider and should be appropriately protected. Media protection policies and proceduresshould address ICT supply chain concerns including media in the organization’s ICT supply chain
infrastructure.
TIER: 1, 2
MP-5

MEDIA TRANSPORT
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should consider ICT supply chain risks whentransporting media, either by organizational or non-organizational personnel or organizations. Some of thetechniques to protect media during transport and storage include cryptographic techniques and approved
custodian services.
TIER: 1, 2
MP-6

MEDIA SANITIZATION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Media is used throughout the SDLC. Media traversing or residing in the

ICT supply chain may originate anywhere including from system integrators, suppliers, and external
service providers. It can be new, refurbished, or reused. Media sanitization is critical to ensure that
information is removed before the media is used, reused or discarded. NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4, Security
and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations, control enhancements MP-6 (1),(2), (3), (7), and (8) provide mechanisms for performing media sanitization.
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION[FIPS 200] specifies the Physical and Environmental Protection minimum security requirement asfollows:
Organizations must: (i) limit physical access to information systems, equipment, and therespective operating environments to authorized individuals; (ii) protect the physical plant andsupport infrastructure for information systems; iii) provide supporting utilities for information
systems; (iv) protect information systems against environmental hazards; and (v) provide
appropriate environmental controls in facilities containing information systems.
ICT supply chains span the physical and logical world. Physical factors include, for example, weather androad conditions that may have an impact to transporting ICT components (or devices) from one location
to another between system integrators, suppliers, and organizations. If not properly addressed as a part of
the ICT SCRM risk management processes, physical and environmental risks may have a negative impact
on the organization’s ability to receive critical components in a timely manner, which may in turn impact
their ability to perform mission operations. Organizations should integrate physical and environmental
protection controls into the ICT supply chain infrastructure to mitigate such risks and ensure that there areno gaps. It should be noted that the degree of physical and environmental protection required throughout
the ICT supply chain is greatly dependent on the degree of integration between acquirer and system
integrator/supplier/external service provider organizations, systems, and processes.
PE-1

PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should integrate ICT supply chain risks into physical andenvironmental protection policy and procedures. The degree of such protection required throughout the ICT
supply chain is greatly dependent on the degree of integration between the organization and its system
integrator, supplier, and external service provider systems and processes. The physical and environmental
protection policy should ensure that the physical interfaces of the ICT supply chain infrastructure haveadequate protection and audit for such protection.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
PE-3

PHYSICAL ACCESS CONTROL
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Physical access control should include individuals and organizations

engaged in the organization’s ICT supply chain. A vetting process should be in place based onorganizational-defined requirements and policy prior to granting access to the ICT supply chain
infrastructure and any relevant elements. Access establishment, maintenance, and revocation processes
should meet organizational access control policy rigor. The speed of revocation for system integrators,
external services providers, and suppliers needing access to physical facilities should be managed inaccordance with the activities performed in their contracts. Prompt revocation is critical when either
individual or organizational need no longer exists.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(5)

PHYSICAL ACCESS CONTROL | TAMPER PROTECTION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Tamper protection is critical for reducing ICT supply chain risks inhardware. The organization should implement validated tamper protections techniques within the
supply chain infrastructure. The organization should also verify tamper protection mechanisms
provided by integrators, suppliers, and external service providers.
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PE-6

MONITORING PHYSICAL ACCESS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Individuals physically accessing the organization’s facilities, including the

ICT supply chain infrastructure, may be employed by system integrators, suppliers, and external service
providers. The organization should monitor these individuals’ activities to reduce associated ICT supply
chain risks.
TIER: 3
PE-16

DELIVERY AND REMOVAL
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This control enhancement reduces ICT supply chain risks introduced

during the physical delivery and removal of hardware components from the organization’s information
systems or ICT supply chain infrastructure.
TIER: 3
PE-17

ALTERNATE WORK SITE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should consider the ICT supply chain risks associatedwith organizational employees or system integrator personnel within or accessing the supply chain
infrastructure using alternate work sites. This can include work from home or other non-work locations.
TIER: 3
PE-18

LOCATION OF INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENTS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Physical and environmental hazards have an impact on the availability ofsystems and components that are or will be acquired and physically transported to the organization’s
locations. For example, organizations should consider the location of information system components
critical for agency operations when planning for alternative suppliers for these components. See CP-6 and
CP-7.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
PE-20

ASSET MONITORING AND TRACKING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should use asset location technologies to track systemand components transported between protected areas, or in storage awaiting implementation, testing,
maintenance, or disposal. Methods include RFID or digital signatures. These technologies help protect
against:a.
b.
c.

Diverting system or component for counterfeit replacement;
Loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability of system or component function and data(including data contained within the component and data about the component); andInterrupting supply chain and logistics processes for critical components.

Asset location technologies also help gather data that can be used later for incident management.
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: PLANNING[FIPS 200] specifies the Planning minimum security requirement as follows:
Organizations must develop, document, periodically update, and implement security plans fororganizational information systems that describe the security controls in place or planned forthe information systems and the rules of behavior for individuals accessing the information
systems.
ICT SCRM concerns should influence security planning, including such activities as security architecture,
coordination with other organizational entities, and development of System Security Plans. Whenacquiring ICT products and services from system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers,organizations may be sharing facilities with those organizations, having employees of these entities on theorganization’s premises, or use information systems that belong to those entities. In these and otherapplicable situations, organizations should coordinate their security planning activities with these entities
to ensure appropriate protection of an organization’s ICT supply chain infrastructure, as well as of theinformation systems and components traversing the ICT supply chain. When establishing security
architectures, organizations should provide for component and supplier diversity to manage the ICT
supply chain-related risks of suppliers going out of business or stopping the production of specificcomponents. Finally, as stated in Chapter 2, organizations may integrate ICT SCRM controls into System
Security Plans for individual systems.
PL-1

SECURITY PLANNING POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Security planning policy and procedures should include ICT supply chain

risk management considerations. This includes security policy, operational policy, and procedures for ICT
supply chain risk management to shape the requirements and the follow-on implementation of operational
systems.
TIER: 1
PL-2

SYSTEM SECURITY PLAN
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The system security plan should include ICT supply chain considerations.

The organization may choose to develop a stand-alone ICT SCRM plan for an individual system. The
system security plan and/or system-level ICT SCRM plan provide inputs into the ICT SCRM plan(s) atTier 1 and Tier 2 (Chapter 2 provides guidance on the ICT SCRM plan.). Controls in this publication(NIST SP 800-161) should be used for the ICT SCRM portion of the system security plan.
TIER: 3Control enhancements:(3)

SYSTEM SECURITY PLAN | PLAN / COORDINATE WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONAL ENTITIESSupplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: In addition to coordinating within the organization, the organization

should coordinate with system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers. For example,
building and operating a system requires a significant amount of coordination and collaboration
between the organization and system integrator personnel. Such coordination and collaboration should
be addressed in the system security plan. The system security plans should also take into account that
suppliers or external service providers may not be able to customize to the acquirer’s requirements.

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PL-8

INFORMATION SECURITY ARCHITECTURE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Information security architecture defines and directs implementation of

security methods, mechanisms, and capabilities to both the ICT supply chain infrastructure and theinformation system. The organization should ensure that the information security architecture is wellunderstood by system engineers and system security engineers.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(2)

INFORMATION SECURITY ARCHITECTURE | SUPPLIER DIVERSITY
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Supplier diversity provides options for addressing information

security and ICT supply chain concerns. The organization should consider this control as it relates tosystem integrators, suppliers, and external service providers.
The organization should plan for potential replacement of system integrators, supplier or external
service providers in case one is no longer able to meet the organization’s requirements (e.g., company
goes out of business or does not meet contractual obligations).
Consider supplier diversity for off-the-shelf (commercial or government) components duringacquisition security assessments. Evaluation of alternatives should include, for example, feature parity,
standards interfaces, commodity components, and ability to provide multiple delivery paths.
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: PROGRAM MANAGEMENTFIPS 200 does not specify Program Management minimum security requirements.
[NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4] states that “the information security program management controls … aretypically implemented at the organization level and not directed at individual organizational information
systems.” Those controls apply to the entire organization (i.e., federal agency) and support theorganization’s overarching information security program. Program management controls support andprovide inputs and feedback to organization-wide ICT SCRM activities.
PM-1

INFORMATION SECURITY PROGRAM PLAN
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: As part of information security program planning, the organization should

document common ICT SCRM controls. A separate ICT SCRM plan may be developed to document ICTSCRM controls that address organization, program, and system-specific needs. The information security
program plan and the associated common controls addressing Tiers 1 and 2 can provide additionalfoundational practices to support the ICT SCRM plan. For Tier 3, use the existing system security plan toincorporate ICT SCRM controls or develop a separate ICT SCRM plan. In Tier 3, ensure that the full
SDLC is covered from the ICT supply chain perspective.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
PM-2

SENIOR INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICER
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Senior information security officer responsibilities should include ICTSCRM and cross-organizational coordination and collaboration with other senior personnel within theorganization such as the CIO, the head of facilities/physical security, and the risk executive (function).
TIER: 1, 2, 3
PM-3

INFORMATION SECURITY RESOURCES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should ensure that ICT supply chain requirements areintegrated into major IT investments to ensure that the funding is appropriately allocated through the capitalplanning and investment request process. For example, should RFID infrastructure be required to improve
ICT SCRM for the ICT supply chain infrastructure and to ensure efficiency, appropriate IT investments arelikely required to ensure successful planning and implementation to meet such needs. Other examples
include any investment into the development or test environment in which critical components aredeveloped and tested. In such a case, funding and resources are needed to ensure acquisition andmaintenance of ICT supply chain infrastructure components that assure critical components meet their ICTSCRM requirements to support the organization mission.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
PM-11

MISSION/BUSINESS PROCESS DEFINITION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: When addressing mission/business process definitions, the organization

should ensure that ICT supply chain activities are incorporated into the support processes for achieving themission success. For example, a system supporting a critical mission function that has been designed andimplemented for easy removal and replacement should a component fail may require the use of somewhat
unreliable hardware components. An ICT supply chain activity may need to be defined to ensure that the
supplier makes component spare parts readily available if replacement is needed.
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PM-12

INSIDER THREAT PROGRAM
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: An insider threat program should include considerations for the ICT

supply chain infrastructure.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
PM-16

THREAT AWARENESS PROGRAM
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: When addressing supply chain threat awareness, knowledge should beshared between stakeholders within the boundaries of the organization’s information sharing policy.
TIER: 1, 2, 3

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: PERSONNEL SECURITY[FIPS 200] specifies the Personnel Security minimum security requirement as follows:
Organizations must: (i) ensure that individuals occupying positions of responsibility withinorganizations (including third-party service providers) are trustworthy and meet establishedsecurity criteria for those positions; (ii) ensure that organizational information and information
systems are protected during and after personnel actions such as terminations and transfers;and (iii) employ formal sanctions for personnel failing to comply with organizational security
policies and procedures.
Personnel that have access to an organization’s ICT supply chain infrastructure should be covered by theorganization’s personnel security controls. These personnel include acquisition and contracting
professionals, program managers, supply chain and logistics professionals, shipping and receiving staff,
information technology professionals, quality professionals, mission and business owners, system owners,
and information security engineers. Organizations should also work with system integrators and external
service providers to ensure that they apply appropriate personnel security controls to their personnel thatinteract with the organization’s ICT supply chain, as appropriate.
PS-1

PERSONNEL SECURITY POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: At each tier, personnel security policy and procedures need to define theroles for the acquirer personnel who manage and execute ICT supply chain infrastructure security activities.
These roles also need to state acquirer personnel responsibilities with regards to relationships with system
integrators, suppliers, and external service providers. Policies and procedures need to consider the fullsystem development life cycle of systems and the roles and responsibilities needed to address the various
supply chain infrastructure activities.
Tier 1: Applicable roles include risk executive, CIO, CISO, contracting, logistics, delivery/receiving,acquisition security, and other functions providing supporting ICT supply chain activities.
Tier 2: Applicable roles include program executive and individuals within the acquirer organization
responsible for program success (e.g., Program Manager and other individuals).
Tier 3: Applicable roles include system engineers or system security engineers throughout the operational
system life cycle from requirements definition, development, test, deployment, maintenance, updates,
replacements, delivery/receiving, and IT.
NOTE: Roles for system integrator, supplier, and external service provider personnel responsible for the
success of the program should be noted in an agreement between acquirer and these parties (e.g., contract).
Related control: SA-4.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
PS-6

ACCESS AGREEMENTS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should define and document access agreements for

system integrators, external service providers, and suppliers. Access agreements should state theappropriate level of access by system integrators, external providers, and suppliers to the information
system and ICT supply chain infrastructure. Additionally, terms of access should be consistent with theorganization’s information security policy. The organization should deploy audit mechanisms to review,
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monitor, update, and track access by these parties in accordance with the access agreement. As personnel
vary over time, the organization should implement a timely and rigorous personnel security update process
for the access agreements.
When ICT products and services are provided by an entity within the organization, there may be an existing
access agreement in place. When such an agreement does not exist, it should be established.
NOTE: While the audit mechanisms may be implemented in Tier 3, the agreement process with required
updates should be implemented at Tier 2 as a part of program management activities.
TIER: 2PS-7

THIRD-PARTY PERSONNEL SECURITY
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Third-party personnel may become part of the ICT supply chain

infrastructure and as such, must meet the same personnel security requirements as those participating in
ICT supply chain infrastructure as organizational personnel. Examples of such third-party personnel can
include the system integrator, supplier, or external service provider personnel used for delivery, or supplier
maintenance personnel brought in to address component technical issues not solvable by the organizationor system integrator.
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: PROVENANCE
Provenance is a new control family, developed specifically to address ICT supply chain concerns.
All systems and components originate somewhere and may be changed throughout their existence. The
recording of system and component origin along with the history of, the changes to, and the recording of
who made the changes is called “provenance.” Acquirers and their system integrators should maintain theprovenance of systems and components under their control to understand where the systems andcomponents originated, their change history while under government control, and who might have had an
opportunity to change them. Provenance allows for changes from the baselines of systems andcomponents to be reported to specific stakeholders. Creating and maintaining provenance within the ICT
supply chain helps government agencies to achieve greater traceability in case of an adverse event and iscritical for understanding and mitigating risks.
COTS suppliers (e.g., OEMs or authorized distributors) and external service providers may use
provenance to demonstrate that the source of goods (e.g., computer hardware or software) are genuine andnot counterfeit.
Provenance is a new control and is likely to require additional resources to implement. Although some
suppliers may collect and preserve certain aspects of component provenance for their solutions, they may
not be able to share such data due to varying sensitivities. Criteria for collecting and preserving
component provenance may be determined based on how critical the component may be and the reason
for keeping provenance, such as intellectual property.
Provenance is a control that requires careful consideration for the level of rigor and implementation.
Agencies should assess the need for better understanding the level of effort that may be required for theacquirers’ ICT supply chain to provide this data because the cost/resource may likely be reflected in thecost to the acquirer. Factors driving up cost include the collection, documentation, and storage for suchdata, which may require additional protection if there are intellectual or security properties to protect.
Continued conversations and strengthened relationships between the acquirer and its supply chain (e.g.,
integrators, suppliers, and external service providers) can help to enable a conversation for scoping theneed and the supply chain assurance the data may be able to provide the organization.
The organization should keep in mind that some suppliers have comprehensive provenance practices andsystems that may go above and beyond the organization’s requirements. The organizations should workwith suppliers to understand the extent of their provenance practices and how they meet the organization's
needs.
PV-1

PROVENANCE POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops, documents, and disseminates the provenance policy and procedures for [Assignment:
organization-defined information systems, or components or the ICT supply chain infrastructure];
andReviews and updates the current organization or mission provenance policy and procedures every[Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Provenance policy can be included in the overall information security

policy for organizations or conversely, can be represented by multiple program security policies reflecting
the complex nature of organizations. The procedures can be established for the security program in generaland individual information systems. These policy procedures should address purpose, scope, roles,
responsibilities, management commitment, coordination among organizational entities, and compliance to
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support managing the information and documentation describing systems/components within information
systems or the ICT supply chain infrastructure.
The provenance policy should stipulate that information related to the tracking of the metadata (analytics)
associated with provenance of tools, data, and processes should be collected, processed, stored, anddisseminated in a controlled and protected manner equal to or greater than that of the individual items forwhich provenance is maintained. It should include:
a.
b.
c.
d.

e.

Procedures for proposing, evaluating, and justifying relevant changes to system/component provenancefor their impact on components, processes, systems, missions, and exposure to supply chain risks;
Allocation of responsibilities for the creation, maintenance, and monitoring of provenance are
documented;
Methods for tracking relevant purchasing, shipping, receiving, or transfer activities, including recordsof reviewer signatures for comparison;
Processes for transferring provenance responsibility for systems or components between organizations
across physical and logical boundaries including any approvals required, e.g., from system integrator
or supplier to acquirer. This may include the identification of key personnel for the handling of
information; andProcedures for tracking and documenting chain of custody of the system or component.

TIER: 1, 2, 3
Control enhancements: None

PV-2

TRACKING PROVENANCE AND DEVELOPING A BASELINE
Control: The organization:

a.
b.
c.
d.

e.

Provides unique identification for the provenance document for tracking as it traverses the ICT
supply chain;
Develops methods to document, monitor, and maintain valid provenance baselines for systems andcomponents of the information system or component and the ICT supply chain infrastructure;
Tracks, documents, and disseminates to relevant supply ICT chain participants changes to theprovenance;
Tracks individuals and processes that have access and make changes to the provenance ofcomponents, tools, data, and processes in the information system or the ICT supply chain
infrastructure; andEnsures non-repudiation of provenance information and the provenance change records including
when, what, and to whom.

Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Tracking of provenance helps to detect unauthorized tampering andmodification throughout the ICT supply chain, especially during repairs/refurbishing, for example, bycomparing the updated provenance with the original baseline provenance. Tracking of provenancebaselines should be performed through using configuration management mechanisms. Organizations should
ensure the timely collection of provenance and change information to provide as near real-time traceability
as possible.
Examples include documenting, monitoring, and maintaining valid baselines for spare parts, developmentchanges, and warehoused items throughout the SDLC.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(1)

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Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should use a variety of repeatable methods for

tracking changes to provenance including the number and frequency of changes, reduction of “on/off”
processes and procedures, and human error. These methods can be both manual and automated. For
example, configuration management databases can be used for the tracking of changes to softwaremodules, hardware components, and documentation. Related Controls: CM-3, CM-5, CM-6, CM-6 (1),CM-6 (2), CM-8, CM-8 (4), CM-8 (6), CM-8 (7), CM-8 (8), CM-8 (9), CM-9, CM-10 (1), CM-11, Sa12 (14)
TIER: 3PV-3

AUDITING ROLES RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVENANCE
Control: The organization:

1) Audits and verifies provenance activities performed by [Assignment: Organization-defined
individuals granted access to the creation, maintenance, or monitoring of provenance]; and2) Protects provenance audit records.
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: These may include both automated and manual systems. Audits ofprovenance should be performed using access control and audit mechanisms. Related Controls: AU -10 (1),AU -10 (2), AU -10 (3), AU -10 (4), SA-12 (11)
TIER: 2, 3
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: RISK ASSESSMENT[FIPS 200] specifies the Risk Assessment minimum security requirement as follows:
Organizations must periodically assess the risk to organizational operations (including
mission, functions, image, or reputation), organizational assets, and individuals, resulting fromthe operating of organizational information systems and the associated processing, storage, ortransmission of organizational information.
NIST SP 800-161 provides guidance for managing an organization’s ICT supply chain risks andexpands this control to integrate ICT supply chain risk assessment activities, as described in Chapter 2.
RA-1

RISK ASSESSMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Risk assessments should be performed at the organization,

mission/program, and system levels of the organization. The system-level risk assessment should include
both the ICT supply chain infrastructure (e.g., development and testing environments, and delivery
systems) and the information system/components traversing the ICT supply chain. A criticality analysis
will ensure that mission-critical functions and components are given higher priority due to their impact tothe mission, if compromised. The policy should include ICT supply chain-relevant roles applicable toperforming and coordinating risk assessments across the organization (see Chapter 2 for the listing anddescription of roles). Applicable roles within acquirer, system integrator, external service providers, andsupplier organizations should be defined.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
RA-2

SECURITY CATEGORIZATION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Security categorization is critical to ICT SCRM at Tiers 1, 2, and 3. In

addition to FIPS 199 categorization, for ICT SCRM, security categorization should be based on thecriticality analysis. See Chapter 2 and SA-15[3] for a detailed description of criticality analysis.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
RA-3

RISK ASSESSMENT
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Risk assessments should include consideration of criticality, threats,vulnerabilities, likelihood, and impact, as described in detail in Chapter 2, Integration of ICT SCRM into
Risk Management. Data to be reviewed and collected includes ICT SCRM-specific roles, processes, andresults of system/component implementation and acceptance. Risk assessments should be performed atTiers 1, 2, and 3. Risk assessments at Tier 1 should be primarily a synthesis of various risk assessments
performed at Tiers 2 and 3 and used for understanding the overall organizational impact.
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: SYSTEM AND SERVICES ACQUISITION[FIPS 200] specifies the System and Services Acquisition minimum security requirement as follows:
Organizations must: (i) allocate sufficient resources to adequately protect organizational
information systems; (ii) employ system development life cycle processes that incorporate
information security considerations; (iii) employ software usage and installation restrictions;and (iv) ensure that third-party providers employ adequate security measures to protect
information, applications, and/or services outsourced from the organization.
System and services acquisition is how organizations acquire ICT products and services. These controls
address an acquirer’s activities, as well as the system integrator, supplier, and external service provider
activities. They address both physical and logical aspects of ICT supply chain security, from tamper
resistance and detection to SDLC and security engineering principles. ICT supply chain concerns are
already prominently addressed in [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4]. NIST SP 800-161 adds further detail andrefinement to these controls.
SA-1

SYSTEM AND SERVICES ACQUISITION POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The system and services acquisition policy should address changes ofownership or control, and any requirements to be communicated to system integrators, suppliers, andexternal service providers. ICT supply chains evolve continuously through mergers and acquisitions, joint
ventures, and other partnership agreements. The policy should help organizations to understand thesechanges and use this information within their ICT SCRM activities. Organizations can obtain such statusthrough, for example, monitoring public announcements about company activities or any communications
initiated by a system integrator, supplier, or external service provider.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
SA-2

ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should consider ICT supply chain requirements in the

allocation of resources.
TIER: 1, 2
SA-3

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: There is a strong relationship between the SDLC activities and ICT supply

chain activities. The organization should ensure that ICT supply chain security considerations areintegrated into the SDLC for information systems and the ICT supply chain infrastructure. In addition to
traditional SDLC activities, such as requirements and design, less traditional activities also should beconsidered in the SDLC, such as inventory management, acquisition and procurement, and logical delivery
of systems and components. See Chapter 2.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
SA-4

ACQUISITION PROCESSSupplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: To integrate ICT SCRM into the organization’s acquisition process, theorganization should ensure that the following acquisition-related requirements, descriptions, and criteria are
addressed in agreements. NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 control enhancements SA-4 (1), (2), (3), (6) and (7)provide further acquisition process mechanisms.
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Establish baseline and tailor-able ICT supply chain security requirements to apply to system
integrators, suppliers, and external service providers;b. Define requirements that cover regulatory requirements (i.e., telecommunications or IT), technicalrequirements, chain of custody, transparency and visibility, sharing information on informationand supply chain security incidents throughout the supply chain, rules for disposal or retention ofelements such as components, data, or intellectual property, and other relevant requirements;c. Define requirements for critical elements in the ICT supply chain to demonstrate a capability toremediate emerging vulnerabilities based on open source information and other sources;
d. Identify requirements for managing intellectual property ownership and responsibilities forelements such as software code, data and information, the manufacturing/development/integration
environment, designs, and proprietary processes when provided to the organization for review oruse;
e. Define requirements for the expected life span of the system and which element may be in a
critical path based on their life span. Establish a plan for any migration that can be required insupport of continued system and mission operations and ensure that the system integrator,
supplier, or external service provider can provide insights into their plans for the end-of-life ofcomponents. Establish a plan for acquisition of spare parts to ensure adequate supply;
f. Work with the supplier, system integrator, or external service provider to identify and define
existing and acceptable incident response and information sharing processes, including inputs onvulnerabilities from other organizations within their supply chains;g. Define requirements for functional properties and implementation information, as well as any
development methods, techniques, or practices which may be relevant;h. Establish and maintain verification procedures and criteria for delivered products and services;
i. Ensure that the continuous monitoring plan includes supply chain aspects in its criteria. Include
the monitoring of functions/ports/protocols in use. See Chapter 2;
j. Monitor system integrators’ and external service providers’ information systems located within the
supply chain infrastructure. Monitor and evaluate the acquired work processes and work products
where applicable;
k. Report information security weaknesses and vulnerabilities detected during the use of ICT
products or services to appropriate stakeholders, including OEMs where relevant;l. Review and confirm that the delivered product or service complies with the agreement on an
ongoing basis; andm. Articulate any circumstances when secondary market components may be permitted.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
Control enhancements:(5)

ACQUISITION PROCESS | SYSTEM / COMPONENT / SERVICE CONFIGURATIONS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: If an organization needs to purchase components, they need to ensurethat the product specifications are “fit for purpose” and meet the organization’s requirements, whether
purchasing directly from the OEM, channel partners, or secondary market.
TIER: 3(7)

ACQUISITION PROCESS | NIAP-APPROVED PROTECTION PROFILES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This control enhancement requires that the organization build,procure, and/or use U.S. government protection profile-certified information assurance components
when possible. NIAP certification can be achieved for OTS (COTS and GOTS).
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INFORMATION SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Information system documentation should include ICT SCRM concerns(e.g., ICT SCRM plan).
TIER: 3SA-8

SECURITY ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The following security engineering techniques are helpful in managing

ICT supply chain risks:
a.

b.
c.
d.
e.

f.

g.

h.

Anticipate the maximum possible ways that the ICT product or service can be misused and abusedin order to help identify how to protect the product or system from such uses. Address intended
and unintended use scenarios in architecture and design;
Design information systems and components based on the organization’s risk tolerance as
determined by risk assessments (see Chapter 2);
Document and gain management acceptance and approval for risks that are not fully mitigated;
Limit the number, size, and privilege levels of critical elements; using criticality analysis will aid
in determining which elements or functions are critical. See criticality analysis in Chapter 2;
Use security mechanisms that help to reduce opportunities to exploit ICT supply chain
vulnerabilities, including, for example, encryption, access control, identity management, andmalware or tampering discovery;
Design information system components and elements to be difficult to disable (e.g., tamperproofing techniques) and, if disabled, trigger notification methods such as audit trails, tamper
evidence, or alarms;
Design delivery mechanisms (e.g., downloads for software) to avoid unnecessary exposure oraccess to the ICT supply chain infrastructure and the information systems/components traversing
ICT supply chain during delivery; andDesign relevant validation mechanisms to be used during implementation and operation.

TIER: 1, 2, 3
SA-9

EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEM SERVICES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: ICT SCRM-specific supplemental guidance is provided in control

enhancements.
Control enhancements:(1)

EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS | RISK ASSESSMENTS / ORGANIZATIONAL APPROVALS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: See Chapter 2, Assess, and Appendices E and F.
TIER: 2, 3

(3)

EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS | ESTABLISH / MAINTAIN CHAIN OF TRUST WITH PROVIDERS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Relationships with providers (“providers” within the context of thisenhancement may include system integrators or external service providers) should meet the following
supply chain security requirements:a.

b.

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Requirements definition is complete and reviewed for accuracy and completeness including theassignment of criticality to various components as well as defining operational concepts andassociated scenarios for intended and unintended use in requirements;
Requirements are based on needs, relevant compliance drivers, criticality analysis, and ICT supply
chain risk assessment;
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c.

d.
e.
f.

Threats, vulnerabilities, and associated risks are identified and documented based on likelihood of
occurrence and impact to the defined system, component, and processes used across the system’s
SDLC;
Organizational data and information integrity, confidentiality, and availability requirements aredefined and shared with the system integrator or external service provider as appropriate;
Consequences of noncompliance with ICT supply chain security requirements and information
system security requirements are defined and documented; andRequirements for service contract completion and what defines the end of the system integrator orexternal service provider relationship. This is important to know for re-compete, potential change
in provider, and also to manage system end-of-life processes.

TIER: 1, 2, 3
(4)

EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS | CONSISTENT INTERESTS OF CONSUMERS AND PROVIDERS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: “Providers” in the context of this enhancement may include system

integrators, suppliers, and external service providers.
TIER: 3
(5)

EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS | PROCESSING, STORAGE, AND SERVICE LOCATION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Location may belong to the system integrator or external service

provider. Appropriate protections should be in place to address associated ICT SCRM risks.
TIER: 3
SA-10

DEVELOPER CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Developer configuration management is critical for reducing ICT supply

chain risks. NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4, Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems
and Organizations, control enhancements SA-10 (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), and (6) provide specific mechanisms
for implementing this control.
TIER: 2, 3
SA-11

DEVELOPER SECURITY TESTING AND EVALUATION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Depending on the origins of components, this control may be implementeddifferently. For OTS (off-the-shelf) components, the acquirer should request proof that the supplier (OEM)has performed such testing as part of their quality/security processes. When the acquirer has control over
the application and the development processes, they should require this testing as part of the SDLC. In
addition to the specific types of testing activities described in the enhancements, examples of ICT SCRMrelevant testing include: testing for counterfeits, verifying the origins of components, examining
configuration settings prior to integration, and testing interfaces. These types of tests may requiresignificant resources and should be prioritized based on criticality, threat and vulnerability analyses(described in Chapter 2), and the effectiveness of testing techniques. Organizations may also require thirdparty testing as part of developer security testing. NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 control enhancements SA-11(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), and (8) provide specific mechanisms for implementation.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
SA-12

SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This control is focused on ICT supply chain protection during acquisition.

NIST SP 800-161 comprehensively addresses ICT SCRM across the entire SDLC, including acquisition.
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Control enhancements:(1)

SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | ACQUISITION STRATEGIES / TOOLS / METHODSSupplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should implement various acquisition strategies,

tools and methods to ensure the integrity and traceability of ICT supply chain infrastructure and supply
systems/components. Examples of tools and methods include obscuring the end-use of components
from the supplier using blind or filtered buys. Other examples include incentive programs to system
integrators, suppliers, or external services providers to ensure that they provide verification of integrity
as well as traceability. More detail is provided in supplemental guidance in NIST 800-53 Revision 4,
SA-12(1).
TIER: 1, 2, 3
(2)

SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | SUPPLIER REVIEWS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should define and implement a supplier review

program to analyze system integrator, supplier, and external services provider activities where
relevant. Usually, an agreement is reached between the organization and system integrators, suppliers,
and/or external services providers that guides the level of traceability and visibility achievable.
Organizations should be cautious in scoping the review program, as there are costs associated with datacollection and keeping, managing, and analyzing the data for relevance once obtained. See NIST 80053 Revision 4, SA-12(2) for more detail.
TIER: 2, 3
(5)

SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | LIMITATION OF HARM
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: A number of supply chain activities may be used to limit exposure ofoperational and supply chain data that may be used by adversaries against the organization. Some
examples include avoiding purchasing custom configurations or ensuring that a diverse set of suppliers
is used to reduce the possibility of single point of failure or threat. See NIST 800-53 Revision 4, SA12(3) for more detail.
TIER: 2, 3
(7)

SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | ASSESSMENTS PRIOR TO SELECTION / ACCEPTANCE / UPDATESupplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization may use multiple methods of assessment prior to

selecting supply chain components used in the organization’s information system or ICT supply chain
infrastructure. The selection of assessment method depends on the level of depth and breadth requiredfor component selection. The organization should ensure that a balance of requirements and budgets
are used so that adequate assessment measures are defined and implemented. See NIST 800-53
Revision 4, SA-12(7) for more detail on the types of assessments available for use prior to selection.
Also, the organization may leverage existing federal mechanisms, (e.g., Defense Microelectronics
Activity (DMEA) accreditation for Trusted Suppliers).
TIER: 2, 3
(8)

SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | USE OF ALL-SOURCE INTELLIGENCE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Ensure that all-source threat and vulnerability information includes

any available foreign ownership and control (FOCI) data. Review this data periodically as mergers andacquisitions, if affecting a supplier, may impact both threat and vulnerability information and therefore
SCRM.
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SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | OPERATIONS SECURITY
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should ensure that the ICT supply chain

infrastructure and information system are scoped as part of organizational operations security (OPSEC)
requirements. Criticality, threat, and vulnerability analyses can provide inputs into OPSEC
requirements to ensure that supply chain aspects are included for implementing requirements. See
Chapter 2 regarding criticality analysis, threat analysis, and vulnerability analysis as well as NIST 80053 Revision 4, SA-12(9) for more detail.
TIER: 2, 3(10) SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | VALIDATE AS GENUINE AND NOT ALTERED
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Examples of unauthorized modifications include the deployment of apatch or an upgrade by a maintenance team prior to staging processes to verify impact of upgrade tooperational environment.
TIER: 2, 3(11) SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | PENETRATION TESTING/ANALYSIS, OF ELEMENT PROCESS AND
ACTORS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: An example of a validation procedure may be the use of digital

signature by an OEM to prove that the software delivered is from its originating source. When digital
signatures are used for this purpose, the organization should ensure, when receiving such software, thatthe signed upgrade/download was not altered.
TIER: 2, 3(12) SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL AGREEMENTS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Inter-organizational agreements with system integrators, suppliers,

and external service providers should ensure that appropriate communications are established. The
organization should leverage the criticality analysis to identify when such agreements are necessary.
The communications should allow for early notifications of various supply chain-related events.
Events can include:
a.
b.
c.
d.

Compromises (both information system and supply chain);
Changes or updates to roadmaps, new component development, updates to components, endof-life decisions;
The addition, replacement, and removal of system integrator personnel supportingorganizational information system and supply chain infrastructure efforts; andInfrastructure changes within external service providers such as any new operating system
rollout, hardware upgrades, or replacements due to field failures, or data store architecture
shifts.

TIER: 2, 3(13) SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | CRITICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENTS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should define critical information systemcomponents to protect the ICT supply chain infrastructure and the information system (see Chapter 2,
Criticality Analysis). A number of supply chain mitigations can be put in place including multisource
supply, stockpiling of spare components for critical component end of life as a short-term fix prior toredesign, etc. Critical information system and ICT supply chain infrastructure components should bereassessed periodically to integrate the changes that may occur during the SDLC.
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________(14) SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | IDENTITY AND TRACEABILITY
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should ensure that elements, processes, and actors

participating in its ICT supply chain infrastructure and managing its information system are adequately
identified and monitored. Identifying and monitoring may need to be scoped to critical activities, thus
helping to scope both cost and resources. Identification of components should include inventorying any
open source software (OSS) components to ensure full traceability and to ensure a cross-reference andmatch to known trusted repositories.
TIER: 2, 3(15) SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | PROCESSES TO ADDRESS WEAKNESSES OR DEFICIENCIES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should ensure that as they collect a variety of evidence

resulting from information system ICT supply chain infrastructure assessment, this evidence isdocumented and integrated into the risk management process to provide inputs to criticality, threat, andvulnerability analyses. This feedback provides input for ensuring that ICT supply chain protections
keep pace with the changes to the ICT supply chain.
TIER: 2, 3
SA-13

TRUSTWORTHINESS
SA-13
Supplemental Guidance: The organization should ensure that both the information system and the ICT supply

chain infrastructure are designed, developed, and implemented with an explicit definition oftrustworthiness. With the use of system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers, defining therequirements to support confidentiality, integrity, and availability of supply chain information is all themore important for ICT SCRM. These ICT SCRM requirements must include a clear definition of supply
chain disruptions, human errors, purposeful attacks, and other risks. Processes and procedures must be
defined as part of the requirements activities to ensure that not only components of the ICT supply chain
infrastructure and the information system are predictably behaving, but that the processes and procedures
also support the requirements for trustworthiness. Examples of areas of concern include:The exchange of components from one supplier to another due to a lack of availability;
Movement of developers and testers in an SDLC from one program to another due to the system
integrator’s internal needs; andThe change of processing and storage platforms in an approved external service provider’s hosting
environment.

Maintaining trustworthiness is an ongoing process and can be a potentially resource-consuming effort. The
organization should understand where best to apply this control as driven by the prioritization results of a
criticality analysis (see SA-14 and Chapter 2).
SA-14

CRITICALITY ANALYSIS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: For systems in the architectural design process step, perform component-

level security categorization to support the system-level criticality analysis. This will ensure theconfidentiality, integrity, or availability of the system and the mission it supports. See Chapter 2, Criticality
Analysis.
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DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, STANDARDS, AND TOOLS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should ensure that the ICT supply chain infrastructure(development process, standards, tools, etc.) is appropriately identified, analyzed for criticality, andappropriately protected from ICT supply chain risks. The organization’s development/maintenance, test,
and deployment environments should all be considered in regards to this control. The tools included in thiscontrol can be manual or automated. Use of automated tools aids thoroughness, efficiency, and scale ofanalysis that helps address ICT supply chain risks in the development process. Additionally, the output ofsuch activities and tools provides useful inputs for ICT SCRM processes described in Chapter 2. This
control has applicability to both the internal organization’s ICT supply chain infrastructure as well as
applicable system integrators. NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 control SA-15 enhancements (1), (2), (5), (6),and (7) provide further detail on mechanisms and techniques that will aid in completion of activities
described in Chapter 2.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(3)

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, STANDARDS, AND TOOLS | CRITICALITY ANALYSIS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This enhancement identifies critical components within theinformation system. This provides detail and clarity to shape the ICT supply chain activities that need
to be implemented for critical components. This criticality analysis provides useful inputs into the ICTSCRM Criticality Analysis described in Chapter 2.
TIER: 2, 3
(4)

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, STANDARDS, AND TOOLS | THREAT MODELING / VULNERABILITYANALYSIS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This enhancement provides threat modeling/vulnerability analysis forthe information system and ICT supply chain infrastructure. This provides further detail and clarity toshape the ICT supply chain activities that need to be implemented for critical components. This
analysis provides useful inputs into the ICT SCRM threat and vulnerability analysis described in
Chapter 2.
TIER: 2, 3
(8)

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, STANDARDS, AND TOOLS | REUSE OF THREAT / VULNERABILITY
INFORMATION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This enhancement encourages developers to inform ongoingdevelopment efforts through reuse of threat and vulnerability information produced by priordevelopment efforts and lessons learned from using the tools. This provides further detail and clarity toshape ICT SCRM activities.
TIER: 3
SA-16

DEVELOPER-PROVIDED TRAINING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This control includes training the individuals responsible for ICT supply

chain infrastructure and the information system developed within the ICT supply chain infrastructure. It
also includes individuals who select information system and ICT supply chain infrastructure components
and should influence the choices made regarding those components. Developer training should include ICTSCRM material to ensure that developers are aware of potential threats and vulnerabilities whendeveloping, testing, and maintaining hardware and software.
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SA-17

DEVELOPER SECURITY ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This control facilitates the use of ICT SCRM information to influence

information system architecture, design, and component selection decisions, including security functions.
Examples include identifying components that compose information system architecture and design, or
selecting specific components to ensure availability through multiple supplier or component selections.
NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 control enhancements SA-17 (1) and (2) provide further details on
implementing this control.
TIER: 2, 3
SA-18

TAMPER RESISTANCE AND DETECTION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Tamper-resistance techniques can reduce counterfeits, reverse engineeringand modifications to software and hardware in the ICT supply chain. Examples of tamper-resistancetechniques include re-tarring of chips to avoid rebranding of discarded chips, or digital signatures to help
non-repudiation of software.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
Control enhancements:(1)

TAMPER RESISTANCE AND DETECTION | MULTIPLE PHASES OF SDLC
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: To ensure that ICT components are not salvaged, reclaimed, otherwise

used, or previously rejected for any reason, organizations may require documentation (certifications,packing slips, etc.) that is continuous in that it enables the tracing of handling and delivery back to the
supplier (OEM).
TIER: 2, 3
(2)

TAMPER RESISTANCE AND DETECTION | INSPECTION OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS, COMPONENTS, OR
DEVICES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should examine inconsistencies in tracking andlabeling of delivered ICT components to identify counterfeit components, for example:
a.
b.
c.
d.

Mismatched lot and the date code;
Absent or mismatched manufacturer’s logo and label on the ICT component and its
documentation;
Mismatched bar code and printed part number; andInconsistent descriptions between package materials and datasheet descriptions.

These comparisons can be done via visual inspections, or a variety of pattern-matching techniques
used in supply chain logistics.
TIER: 2, 3
(3)

TAMPER RESISTANCE AND DETECTION | RETURN POLICY
Control: The organization defines and implements a return policy [Assignment: organization-defined

information systems, system components, or devices] [upon [Assignment: organization-definedindicator failure against tamper resistance criteria]].
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should implement a return policy for ICT components

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resistance and detection criteria, components should be promptly processed for return along withappropriate documentation regarding the failure. Organizations should report information regarding the
failure and return to appropriate organizations (e.g., Government-Industry Data Exchange Program,which is also known by its acronym, GIDEP). Ensure that the data describing the failure is sent
separately from the ICT component. Additionally, ensure that both failure metadata and the ICTcomponent are adequately protected during return to ensure against potential inappropriate access that
impact supplier or organizations’ confidentiality and integrity.
TIER: 2, 3
SA-19

COMPONENT AUTHENTICITY

Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations should include in theiranti-counterfeit policy and procedures, a means to help ensure that the components acquired and used areauthentic and have not been subject to tampering. In many circumstances, the most effective method tohelp ensure authenticity is to acquire needed components only from OEMs, their authorized resellers, orother trusted sources. However, limiting eligibility to these sources for all acquisitions may not becompatible with market availability, organizational needs, acquisition rules, socioeconomic procurement
preferences, or principles of open competition. If an organization chooses other sources, it should obtainassurances of the provider’s ability to verify, through documentation or other means, the integrity, security,and quality of the components being acquired. Such assurances are especially important when acquiring
obsolete, refurbished, or otherwise out-of-production components. If such assurances are not obtainable,organizations should create a risk response plan to address any additional risks to organizational missions
or business operations.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(1)

COMPONENT AUTHENTICITY | ANTI-COUNTERFEIT TRAINING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Counterfeits represent a major ICT supply chain risk. Training

personnel to recognize and manage counterfeits in the supply chain will help to improve the integrity
and authenticity of the organization’s information systems and ICT supply chain infrastructure.
TIER: 2, 3
(2)

COMPONENT AUTHENTICITY | CONFIGURATION CONTROL FOR COMPONENT SERVICE / REPAIR
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Organizations may be at risk to ICT supply chain compromise throughcomponent service and repair processes. The organization should manage risks associated withcomponent repair including the repair process and any replacements, updates, and revisions ofhardware and software components within the ICT supply chain infrastructure.
TIER: 2, 3
(3)

COMPONENT AUTHENTICITY | COMPONENT DISPOSAL
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should ensure that ICT components can be disposedof without exposing organization, mission, or operational information, which may lead to a future ICT
supply chain compromise. This includes:
a.
b.
c.

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Considering the transmission of sensitive data (mission, user, operational system) tounauthorized parties or unspecified parties during disposal activities;
Monitoring and documenting the chain of custody through the destruction process;Training disposal service personnel to ensure accurate delivery of service against disposal
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d.

Implementing assessment procedures for the verification of disposal processes with afrequency that fits organizational/mission needs.

TIER: 2, 3
(4)

COMPONENT AUTHENTICITY | ANTI-COUNTERFEIT SCANNING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should scan for counterfeit components within theinformation system and ICT supply chain infrastructure. Examples of techniques to be used can
include automated visual scanning techniques for hardware and checking for digital signatures insoftware.
TIER: 2, 3
SA-20

CUSTOMIZED DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICAL COMPONENTS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization may decide, based on their ICT SCRM risk assessment,that they require customized development of certain critical components. This control provides additional
guidance on this activity.
TIER: 2, 3
SA-21

DEVELOPER SCREENING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should implement screening processes for their internal

developers. For system integrators who may be providing key developers that address critical components,
the organization should ensure that appropriate processes for developer screening have been used.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(1)

DEVELOPER SCREENING| VALIDATION OF SCREENING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Internal developer screening should be validated. Organizations may

validate system integrator developer screening by requesting summary data from the system integrator
to be provided post-validation.
TIER: 2, 3
SA-22

UNSUPPORTED SYSTEM COMPONENTS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Acquiring products directly from qualified original equipment

manufacturers (OEMs) or their authorized distributors and resellers significantly reduces many ICT supply
chain risks. In the case of unsupported system components, the organization should consider using
authorized distributors with an ongoing relationship with the supplier of the unsupported systemcomponents.
TIER: 2, 3
Control Enhancements:(1)

UNSUPPORTED SYSTEM COMPONENTS | ALTERNATIVE SOURCES FOR CONTINUED SUPPORTSupplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should consider, when purchasing alternate sources

for continued support, acquiring directly from vetted original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) or
their authorized distributors and resellers. Decisions about using alternate sources require input fromthe organization’s engineering resources regarding the differences in alternate component options. For
example, if an alternative is to acquire an open source software component, what are the open source
community development, test, acceptance, and release processes?
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTION[FIPS 200] specifies the System and Communications Protection minimum security requirement asfollows:
Organizations must: (i) monitor, control, and protect organizational communications (i.e.,
information transmitted or received by organizational information systems) at the externalboundaries and key internal boundaries of the information systems; and (ii) employ
architectural designs, software development techniques, and systems engineering principles
that promote effective information security within organizational information systems.
An organization’s communications infrastructure is composed of ICT components and systems, whichhave their own ICT supply chains and also support an organization’s ICT supply chain infrastructure.
These communications connect an organization’s systems with system integrator and occasionallysupplier systems. An organization’s communications may be provided by system integrators or external
service providers.
SC-1

SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTION POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: System and communications protection policies and procedures should

address ICT supply chain infrastructure security. Organization-level and program-specific policies help to
set the requirements of communication and how the infrastructure is established to meet theserequirements. Policies and procedures should include the coordination of communications among andacross multiple organizational entities within the organization as well as communications methods andinfrastructure used between the organization and its system integrators, suppliers, and external service
providers.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
SC-4

INFORMATION IN SHARED RESOURCES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization may share information system resources with system

integrators or external service providers. Protecting information in shared resources in support of various
supply chain activities is challenging when outsourcing key operations. Organizations may either share toomuch, increasing their risk, or share too little, making it difficult for the system integrator or external
service provider to be efficient in their service delivery. The organization should work with developers todefine a structure/process of information sharing including the data shared, method of sharing, and towhom (the specific roles) it is provided. Appropriate privacy and clearance requirements should beconsidered in the information sharing process.
TIER: 2, 3
SC-5

INFORMATION IN SHARED RESOURCES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: ICT SCRM-specific supplemental guidance is provided in control

enhancement SC-5 (2).
Control enhancements:(2)

DENIAL OF SERVICE PROTECTION | EXCESS CAPACITY / BANDWIDTH / REDUNDANCY
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should include requirements for excess capacity,

bandwidth, and redundancy into agreements with system integrators, suppliers, and external service
providers.

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SC-7

BOUNDARY PROTECTION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should implement appropriate monitoring mechanisms

and processes at the boundaries between the agency systems and system integrator, supplier, and external
services provider systems. Provisions for boundary protections should be incorporated into agreements withsystem integrators, suppliers, and external service providers. There may be multiple interfaces throughout
the ICT supply chain infrastructure and the SDLC. Appropriate vulnerability, threat, and risk assessments
should be performed to ensure proper boundary protections for both supply chain components as well as
supply chain information flow. The vulnerability, threat, and risk assessment can aid in scoping boundary
protection to a relevant set of criteria and help manage associated costs. Further detail is provided in
Chapter 2.
TIER: 2Control enhancements:(13) BOUNDARY PROTECTION | ISOLATION OF SECURITY TOOLS / MECHANISMS / SUPPORTCOMPONENTS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should provide separation and isolation ofdevelopment, test, and security assessment tools, and operational environments and relevant
monitoring tools within the ICT supply chain infrastructure. If a compromise or information leakage
happens in any one environment, the other environments should still be protected through theseparation/isolation mechanisms or techniques.
TIER: 3(19) BOUNDARY PROTECTION | BLOCKS COMMUNICATION FROM NON-ORGANIZATIONALLYCONFIGURED HOSTS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This control is relevant to ICT SCRM as it applies to external service

providers.
TIER: 3
SC-8

TRANSMISSION CONFIDENTIALITY AND INTEGRITY
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Requirements for transmission confidentiality and integrity should be

integrated into agreements with system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers. Acquirers,
system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers may repurpose existing security mechanisms(e.g., authentication, authorization, or encryption) to achieve organizational confidentiality and integrity
requirements. The degree of protection should be based on the sensitivity of information to be transmitted
and the relationship between the organization and the system integrator, supplier, or external service
provider.
TIER: 2, 3
SC-18

MOBILE CODE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should consider the use of this control in various

applications of mobile code within their ICT supply chain infrastructure. Examples include acquisition
processes such as electronic transmission of ICT supply chain information (e.g., email), receipt of software
components, logistics information management in RFID, or transport sensors infrastructure.
TIER: 3Control enhancements:

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MOBILE CODE | ACQUISITION / DEVELOPMENT / USE

Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should employ rigorous supply chain protection

techniques in the acquisition, development, and use of mobile code to be deployed in the information
system. Examples include ensuring that mobile code originates from vetted sources when acquired, thatvetted system integrators are used for the development of custom mobile code or prior to installing, andthat verification processes are in place for acceptance criteria prior to install in order to verify the source
and integrity of code. Note that mobile code can be both code for ICT supply chain infrastructurecomponents (e.g., RFID device applications) or for information systems/components.
TIER: 3
SC-27

PLATFORM-INDEPENDENT APPLICATIONS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Platform-independent applications for ICT SCRM can make the ICTSCRM application more resilient to changes.
TIER: 2, 3
SC-28

PROTECTION OF INFORMATION AT REST
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should include provisions for protection of information

at rest into their agreements with system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers. Conversely,
the organization should also ensure that they provide appropriate protections within the ICT supply chain
infrastructure for data at rest for the system integrator, supplier, and external service provider information,such as source code, testing data, blueprints, and intellectual property information. This control should beapplied throughout the SDLC including during requirements, development, manufacturing, test, inventory
management, maintenance, and disposal.
TIER: 2, 3
SC-29

HETEROGENEITY
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Heterogeneity techniques include use of different operating systems,

virtualization techniques, and multiple sources of supply. Multiple sources of supply can improve
component availability and reduce the impact of an ICT supply chain compromise. In case of an ICT
supply chain compromise, an alternative source of supply will allow the organizations to quickly switch toan alternative system/component which may not be affected by the compromise. Also, heterogeneouscomponents decrease the attack surface by limiting the impact to the subset of the infrastructure that isusing vulnerable components.
TIER: 2, 3
SC-30

CONCEALMENT AND MISDIRECTION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Concealment and misdirection techniques for ICT SCRM include theestablishment of random resupply times, concealment of location, random change of fake location used,
and random change/shifting of information storage into alternate servers/storage mechanisms.
TIER: 3Control enhancements:(2)

CONCEALMENT AND MISDIRECTION | RANDOMNESS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Supply chain processes are necessarily structured with predictable,measurable, and repeatable processes for the purpose of efficiency and cost reduction. This opens up
the opportunity for potential breach. In order to protect against compromise, the organization should
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employ techniques to introduce randomness into organizational operations and assets in theorganization’s information systems or ICT supply chain infrastructure (e.g., randomly switchingamong several delivery organizations or routes, or changing the time and date of receiving suppliersoftware updates if previously predictably scheduled).
TIER: 2, 3
(3)

CONCEALMENT AND MISDIRECTION | CHANGE PROCESSING / STORAGE LOCATIONS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Changes in processing or storage locations can be used to protect

downloads, deliveries, or associated supply chain metadata. The organization may leverage suchtechniques within the ICT supply chain infrastructure to create uncertainty into the activities targetedby adversaries. Establishing a few process changes and randomizing the use of them, whether it is forreceiving, acceptance testing, storage, or other supply chain activities, can aid in reducing the
likelihood of a supply chain event.
TIER: 2, 3
(4)

CONCEALMENT AND MISDIRECTION | MISLEADING INFORMATION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization can convey misleading information as part ofconcealment and misdirection efforts to protect both the ICT supply chain infrastructure and theinformation system. Examples of such efforts in security include honeynets or virtualized
environments. Infrastructure implementations can be leveraged in conveying misleading information.
These may be considered advanced techniques requiring experienced resources to effectively
implement them.
TIER: 2, 3
(5)

CONCEALMENT AND MISDIRECTION | CONCEALMENT OF SYSTEM / COMPONENTS
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization may employ various concealment and misdirection

techniques to protect information about the information system and ICT supply chain infrastructure.
For example, delivery of critical components to a central or trusted third-party depot can be used toconceal or misdirect any information regarding the component use or the organization using thecomponent. Separating components from their associated information into differing physical andelectronic delivery channels and obfuscating the information through various techniques can be used toconceal information and reduce the opportunity for potential loss of confidentiality of the component
or its use, condition, etc.
TIER: 2, 3
SC-36

DISTRIBUTED PROCESSING AND STORAGE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Processing and storage can be distributed both across the ICT supply chain

infrastructure and across the SDLC, and the organization should ensure that these techniques are applied inboth contexts. The following activities can use distributed processing and storage: development,
manufacturing, configuration management, test, maintenance, and operations.
TIER: 2, 3
SC-37

OUT-OF-BAND CHANNELSSupplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: ICT SCRM-specific supplemental guidance is provided in control

enhancement SC-37 (1).
Control enhancements:

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OUT-OF-BAND CHANNELS | ENSURE DELIVERY / TRANSMISSION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should employ security safeguards to ensure that

only specific individuals or information systems receive the information about the information system
or ICT supply chain infrastructure. For example, proper credentialing and authorization documents
should be requested and verified prior to the release of critical components such as custom chips,
custom software, or information during delivery.
TIER: 2, 3
SC-38

OPERATIONS SECURITY
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should ensure that appropriate ICT supply chain threat

and vulnerability information is obtained from and provided to the operational security processes within the
ICT supply chain infrastructure.
Tier: 2, 3

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: SYSTEM AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY[FIPS 200] specifies the System and Information Integrity minimum security requirement as follows:
Organizations must: (i) identify, report, and correct information and information system flaws
in a timely manner; (ii) provide protection from malicious code at appropriate locations withinorganizational information systems; and (iii) monitor information system security alerts andadvisories and take appropriate actions in response.
System and information integrity for systems and components traversing the ICT supply chain
infrastructure is critical for managing ICT supply chain risks. Insertion of malicious code and counterfeits
are two primary examples of ICT supply chain risks, both of which can be at least partially addressed bydeploying system and information integrity controls. Organizations should ensure that adequate system
and information integrity protections are considered as part of ICT supply chain risk management.
SI-1

SYSTEM AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should include ICT SCRM considerations in system andinformation integrity policy and procedures, including ensuring that program-specific requirements for
employing various integrity verification tools and techniques are clearly defined. System and information
integrity for information systems and components and the ICT supply chain infrastructure is critical for
managing ICT supply chain risks. Insertion of malicious code and counterfeits are two primary examples of
ICT supply chain risks, both of which can be at least partially addressed by deploying system andinformation integrity controls.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
SI-2

FLAW REMEDIATION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Output of flaw remediation activities provides useful input into ICTSCRM processes described in Chapter 2.
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(5)

FLAW REMEDIATION | AUTOMATIC SOFTWARE / FIRMWARE UPDATESSupplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should specify the various software assets within its

infrastructure that require automated updates (both indirect and direct). This specification of assets
should be defined from criticality analysis results, which provide information on critical andnoncritical functions and components (see Chapter 2). A centralized patch management process may
be employed to provide a buffer for evaluating and managing updates prior to deployment. Those
software assets that require direct updates from a supplier should only accept updates originating
directly from the OEM unless specifically deployed by the acquirer, such as with a centralized patch
management process.
TIER: 2
SI-4

INFORMATION SYSTEM MONITORING
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This control includes monitoring of vulnerabilities resulting from past ICT

supply chain compromises, such as malicious code implanted during software development and set toactivate after deployment. Information system monitoring is frequently performed by external service

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providers. Service-level agreements with these providers should be structured to appropriately reflect thiscontrol.
TIER: 1, 2, 3
Control enhancements:(17) INFORMATION SYSTEM MONITORING | INTEGRATED SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

SI-4 (17)Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: Information system monitoring information may be correlated withthat of system integrators, suppliers, and external service providers, if appropriate. The results ofcorrelating monitoring information may point to ICT supply chain compromises.
TIER: 2, 3(19) INFORMATION SYSTEM MONITORING | INDIVIDUALS POSING GREATER RISK

SI-4 (19)Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization may implement vetting processes to ensure that

employees meet requirements to participate in the ICT supply chain infrastructure or in developing,
testing, or operating of information systems and components. The organization can leverage humanresource records, intelligence agencies, law enforcement organizations, and other credible sources forvetting organizations’ personnel.
TIER: 2, 3
SI-5

SECURITY ALERTS, ADVSORIES, AND DIRECTIVES
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should evaluate security alerts, advisories, and directives

for ICT supply chain impact and follow up if needed.
TIER: 2, 3
SI-7

SOFTWARE, FIRMWARE, AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: This control applies to the information system and ICT supply chain

infrastructure. The integrity of the ICT supply chain infrastructure should be systematically tested andverified to ensure that it remains as required so that the information systems/components traversing throughit are not impacted by unanticipated changes. The integrity of information systems and components should
also be tested and verified. Applicable verification tools include: digital signature or checksum verification,
acceptance testing for physical components, confining software to limited privilege environments such as
sandboxes, code execution in contained environments prior to use, and ensuring that if only binary or
machine-executable code is available, it is obtained directly from the OEM or a verified supplier or
distributer. Mechanisms for this control are discussed in detail in NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 control
enhancements SI-7 (11), (12), and (13).
TIER: 2, 3
Control enhancements:(14) SOFTWARE, FIRMWARE, AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY | BINARY OR MACHINE EXECUTABLE
CODE
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should obtain binary or machine-executable code

directly from the OEM/developer or other verified source.
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Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: The organization should ensure that code authentication mechanisms

such as digital signatures are implemented to assure the integrity of software, firmware, andinformation of the ICT supply chain infrastructure and information system.
TIER: 3
SI-12

INFORMATION OUTPUT HANDLING AND RETENTION
Supplemental ICT SCRM Guidance: ICT SCRM concerns should be included as operational requirements,

especially when system integrator, supplier, and external service provider sensitive and proprietary
information is concerned.
TIER: 3

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APPENDIX AICT SCRM CONTROL SUMMARY
This appendix lists the ICT SCRM controls in this publication and maps them to their corresponding[NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4] controls as appropriate. Table A-1 indicates those controls that are defined in
NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4 as “High Baseline” requirements. Some ICT SCRM controls were added tothis baseline in order to create a baseline for ICT SCRM. Additionally, because ICT SCRM is anorganization-wide activity that requires selection and implementation of controls at the organization,
mission, and system levels (Tiers 1, 2, and 3 of the organization according to [NIST SP 800-39]), Table
A-1 indicates the organizational tiers in which the controls should be implemented. The table highlights
ICT SCRM controls and enhancements not in [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4] in red, viz., MA-7, PV-1, PV-2,
PV-2(1), PV-3, and SA-18(3).
Table A-1: ICT SCRM Control Summary
CONTROL NAMECNTL NO.
CONTROL ENHANCEMENT NAME

800-53 REV. 4
HIGH BASELINESCRMBASELINE

TIERS
1

2

3

X

X

X

AC-1

ACCESS CONTROL POLICY AND PROCEDURES

X

X

AC-2

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT

X

X

X

X

AC-3

ACCESS ENFORCEMENT

X

X

X

X

AC-3 (8)ACCESS ENFORCEMENT | REVOCATION OF ACCESSAUTHORIZATIONS

X

X

X

AC-3 (9)ACCESS ENFORCEMENT | CONTROLLED RELEASE

X

X

X

AC-4

INFORMATION FLOW ENFORCEMENT

X

X

X

AC-4 (6)INFORMATION FLOW ENFORCEMENT | METADATA

X

X

X

AC-4 (17)

INFORMATION FLOW ENFORCEMENT | DOMAIN
AUTHENTICATION

X

X

AC-4 (19)

INFORMATION FLOW ENFORCEMENT | VALIDATION OF
METADATA

X

X

AC-4 (21)

INFORMATION FLOW ENFORCEMENT | PHYSICAL /LOGICAL SEPARATION OF INFORMATION FLOWS

AC-5

SEPARATION OF DUTIESX

X(AC-6)(LEAST PRIVILEGE)

(X)

(N/A)

AC-6(6)LEAST PRIVILEGE | PRIVILEGED ACCESS BY NONORGANIZATIONAL USERS

AC-17

REMOTE ACCESS

AC-17 (6)REMOTE ACCESS | PROTECTION OF INFORMATION

AC-18

WIRELESS ACCESS

X

X

AC-19

ACCESS CONTROL FOR MOBILE DEVICES

X

X

AC-20

USE OF EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMSXXAPPENDIX A

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

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CONTROL NAMECNTL NO.
CONTROL ENHANCEMENT NAME

800-53 REV. 4
HIGH BASELINESCRMBASELINE

X

X

TIERS
1

2

3

X

X

X

X

AC-20 (1)USE OF EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS | LIMITS ON
AUTHORIZED USE

AC-20 (3)

USE OF EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS | NONORGANIZATIONALLY OWNED SYSTEMS / COMPONENTS /DEVICES

AC-21

INFORMATION SHARING

X

X

AC-22

PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE CONTENT

X

X

AC-24

ACCESS CONTROL DECISIONS

AT-1

SECURITY AWARENESS AND TRAINING POLICY AND
PROCEDURES

X

X(AT-3)(ROLE-BASED SECURITY TRAINING)

(X)

(N/A)

AT-3 (2)

SECURITY TRAINING | PHYSICAL SECURITY CONTROLS

AU-1

AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY POLICY AND
PROCEDURES

X

X

X

X

X

AU-2

AUDIT EVENTS

X

X

X

X

X

AU-6

AUDIT REVIEW, ANALYSIS, AND REPORTING

X

X

X

X

AU-6 (9)

AUDIT REVIEW, ANALYSIS, AND REPORTING |CORRELATION WITH INFORMATION FROM NONTECHNICALSOURCES

AU-10

NON-REPUDIATION

AU-10 (1)

NON-REPUDIATION | ASSOCIATION OF IDENTITIESX

X

AU-10 (2)NON-REPUDIATION | VALIDATE BINDING OF INFORMATIONPRODUCER IDENTITY

X

X

X

AU-10 (3)

NON-REPUDIATION | CHAIN OF CUSTODY

X

X

X

AU-12

AUDIT GENERATION

X

X

X

AU-13

MONITORING FOR INFORMATION DISCLOSURE

X

X

X

AU-16

CROSS-ORGANIZATIONAL AUDITING

X

X

X

AU-16 (2)

CROSS-ORGANIZATIONAL AUDITING | SHARING OF AUDITINFORMATION

X

X

X

CA-1

SECURITY ASSESSMENT AND AUTHORIZATIONPOLICIES AND PROCEDURES

X

X

X

X

CA-2

SECURITY ASSESSMENTS

X

X

X

X

CA-2 (2)

SECURITY ASSESSMENTS | SPECIALIZED ASSESSMENTS

X

X

X

CA-2 (3)

SECURITY ASSESSMENTS | EXTERNAL ORGANIZATIONS

X

X

CA-3

SYSTEM INTERCONNECTIONS

X

XCA-3 (3)SYSTEM INTERCONNECTIONS | UNCLASSIFIED NONNATIONAL SECURITY SYSTEM CONNECTIONS

X

CA-3 (4)SYSTEM INTERCONNECTIONS | CONNECTIONS TO PUBLIC
NETWORKSXAPPENDIX A

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

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CONTROL NAMECNTL NO.
CONTROL ENHANCEMENT NAME

800-53 REV. 4
HIGH BASELINESCRMBASELINE

CA-3 (5)SYSTEM INTERCONNECTIONS | RESTRICTIONS ON
EXTERNAL SYSTEM CONNECTIONS

X

X

CA-5

PLAN OF ACTION AND MILESTONES

X

X

CA-6

SECURITY AUTHORIZATION

X

X

CA-7

CONTINUOUS MONITORING

X

X

CA-7 (3)

CONTINUOUS MONITORING | TREND ANALYSES

CM-1

CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT POLICY AND
PROCEDURES

X

X

CM-2

BASELINE CONFIGURATIONX

CM-2 (1)

BASELINE CONFIGURATION | REVIEWS AND UPDATESX

CM-2 (6)

BASELINE CONFIGURATION | DEVELOPMENT AND TESTENVIRONMENTS

CM-3

CONFIGURATION CHANGE CONTROL

CM-4

TIERS
1

2

3
X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X
X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

SECURITY IMPACT ANALYSIS

X

X

CM-5

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS FOR CHANGE

X

X

CM-5 (1)ACCESS RESTRICTIONS FOR CHANGE | AUTOMATEDACCESS ENFORCEMENT / AUDITING

X

X

CM-5 (2)ACCESS RESTRICTIONS FOR CHANGE | REVIEW SYSTEMCHANGES

X

X

CM-5 (3)ACCESS RESTRICTIONS FOR CHANGE | SIGNEDCOMPONENTS

X

X

X

CM-5 (6)ACCESS RESTRICTIONS FOR CHANGE | LIMIT LIBRARY
PRIVILEGES

X

X

CM-6

CONFIGURATION SETTINGS

X

X

CM-6 (1)

CONFIGURATION SETTINGS | AUTOMATED CENTRALMANAGEMENT / APPLICATION / VERIFICATION

X

X

X

CM-6 (2)CONFIGURATION SETTINGS | RESPOND TO
UNAUTHORIZED CHANGES

X

X

X

CM-7

LEAST FUNCTIONALITY

X

X

X

CM-7 (4)

LEAST FUNCTIONALITY | UNAUTHORIZED SOFTWARE /BLACKLISTING

CM-7 (5)LEAST FUNCTIONALITY | AUTHORIZED SOFTWARE /WHITELISTING

X

X

CM-8

INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY

X

X

CM-8 (1)

INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY |UPDATES DURING INSTALLATIONS / REMOVALS

X

X

X

CM-8 (2)

INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY |AUTOMATED MAINTENANCE

X

X

X

CM-8 (4)

INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY |ACCOUNTABILITY INFORMATION

X

X

X

APPENDIX A

X

X

X
X

X
X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X
X

X

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CONTROL NAMECNTL NO.
CONTROL ENHANCEMENT NAME

800-53 REV. 4
HIGH BASELINESCRMBASELINE

TIERS
1

2

3

CM-8 (6)INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY |ASSESSED CONFIGURATIONS / APPROVED DEVIATIONS

X

XCM-8 (7)INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY |CENTRALIZED REPOSITORY

X

X

CM-8 (8)INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY |AUTOMATED LOCATION TRACKING

X

CM-8 (9)INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY |ASSIGNMENT OF COMPONENTS TO SYSTEMS

X

CM-9

CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT PLAN

CM-9 (1)

CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT PLAN | ASSIGNMENT OFRESPONSIBILITY

CM-10

SOFTWARE USAGE RESTRICTIONS

CM-10 (1)SOFTWARE USAGE RESTRICTIONS | OPEN SOURCESOFTWARE

CM-11

USER-INSTALLED SOFTWARE

CP-1

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

CONTINGENCY PLANNING POLICY AND PROCEDURES

X

X

X

X

CP-2

CONTINGENCY PLAN

X

X

X

X

CP-2 (2)

CONTINGENCY PLAN | CAPACITY PLANNING

X

X

X

CP-2 (7)

CONTINGENCY PLAN | COORDINATE WITH EXTERNALSERVICE PROVIDERS

X

X

CP-2 (8)CONTINGENCY PLAN | IDENTIFY CRITICAL ASSETS

X

X

X

CP-6

ALTERNATE STORAGE SITE

X

X

X

X

CP-7

ALTERNATE PROCESSING SITE

X

X

X

X

CP-8

TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES

X

X

X

X

CP-8 (3)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES | SEPARATION OF
PRIMARY / ALTERNATE PROVIDERS

X

X

X

X

CP-8 (4)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES | PROVIDERCONTINGENCY PLAN

X

X

X

X

IA-1

IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION POLICYAND PROCEDURES

X

X

X

X

X

IA-2

IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION(ORGANIZATIONAL USERS)

X

X

X

X

X

IA-4

IDENTIFIER MANAGEMENT

X

X

X

X

IA-4 (6)IDENTIFIER MANAGEMENT | CROSS-ORGANIZATIONMANAGEMENT

X

X

IA-5

AUTHENTICATOR MANAGEMENT

IA-5 (5)IA-5 (9)APPENDIX A

X

X

X

X

X
X

X

X

X

X

AUTHENTICATOR MANAGEMENT | CHANGE
AUTHENTICATORS PRIOR TO DELIVERYX

X

AUTHENTICATOR MANAGEMENT | CROSS-ORGANIZATION
CREDENTIAL MANAGEMENTX

X

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CONTROL NAMECNTL NO.
CONTROL ENHANCEMENT NAME

800-53 REV. 4
HIGH BASELINESCRMBASELINE

TIERS
1

2

3

X

X

X

X

IA-8

IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION (NONORGANIZATIONAL USERS)

X

X

IR-1

INCIDENT RESPONSE POLICY AND PROCEDURES

X

X(IR-4)(INCIDENT HANDLING)

(X)

(N/A)

IR-4 (6)

INCIDENT HANDLING | INSIDER THREATS - SPECIFICCAPABILITIESX

X

IR-4 (7)

INCIDENT HANDLING | INSIDER THREATS – INTRAORGANIZATION COORDINATION

X

X

IR-4 (10)

INCIDENT HANDLING | SUPPLY CHAIN COORDINATION

X

X(IR-6)(INCIDENT REPORTING)

IR-6 (3)

INCIDENT REPORTING | COORDINATION WITH SUPPLY
CHAIN

X

X

IR-9

INFORMATION SPILLAGE RESPONSE

X

X

MA-1

SYSTEM MAINTENANCE POLICY AND PROCEDURES

X

X(MA-2)(CONTROLLED MAINTENANCE)

(X)

(N/A)

MA-2 (2)

CONTROLLED MAINTENANCE | AUTOMATED
MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES

X

X

MA-3

MAINTENANCE TOOLS

X

X

MA-3 (1)MAINTENANCE TOOLS | INSPECT TOOLS

X

X

X

MA-3 (2)MAINTENANCE TOOLS | INSPECT MEDIA

X

X

X

MA-3 (3)MAINTENANCE TOOLS | PREVENT UNAUTHORIZEDREMOVAL

X

X

X

MA-4

NONLOCAL MAINTENANCE

X

X

X

X

MA-4 (2)NONLOCAL MAINTENANCE | DOCUMENT NONLOCAL
MAINTENANCE

X

X

X

X

MA-4 (3)NONLOCAL MAINTENANCE | COMPARABLE SECURITY /SANITIZATION

X

X

X

X

MA-5

MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL

X

X

X

X

MA-6

TIMELY MAINTENANCE

X

X

X

MA-7

MAINTENANCE MONITORING AND INFORMATIONSHARING

N/A

X

X

MP-1

MEDIA PROTECTION POLICY AND PROCEDURES

X

X

X

X

MP-5

MEDIA TRANSPORT

X

X

X

X

MP-6

MEDIA SANITIZATION

X

X

PE-1

PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
POLICY AND PROCEDURES

X

X

PE-3

PHYSICAL ACCESS CONTROL

X

PE-3 (5)PHYSICAL ACCESS CONTROL | TAMPER PROTECTION

PE-6

MONITORING PHYSICAL ACCESSAPPENDIX A

(X)

X

X

(N/A)

X

X

X

X
X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

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CONTROL NAMECNTL NO.
CONTROL ENHANCEMENT NAME

800-53 REV. 4
HIGH BASELINESCRMBASELINE

TIERS
1

2

3

PE-16

DELIVERY AND REMOVAL

X

X

X

PE-17

ALTERNATE WORK SITE

X

X

X

PE-18

LOCATION OF INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENTS

X

X

PE-20

ASSET MONITORING AND TRACKING

PL-1

SECURITY PLANNING POLICY AND PROCEDURES

X

X

PL-2

SYSTEM SECURITY PLAN

X

X

PL-2 (3)SYSTEM SECURITY PLAN | PLAN / COORDINATE WITH
OTHER ORGANIZATIONAL ENTITIES

X

X

X

PL-8

INFORMATION SECURITY ARCHITECTURE

X

X

X

X

PL-8 (2)

INFORMATION SECURITY ARCHITECTURE | SUPPLIER
DIVERSITY

X

X

X

PM-1

INFORMATION SECURITY PROGRAM PLAN

X

X

X

X

PM-2

SENIOR INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICER

X

X

X

X

PM-3

INFORMATION SECURITY RESOURCES

X

X

X

X

PM-11

MISSION/BUSINESS PROCESS DEFINITION

X

X

X

X

PM-12

MISSION/BUSINESS PROCESS DEFINITION

X

X

X

X

PM-16

THREAT AWARENESS PROGRAM

X

X

X

X

PS-1

PERSONNEL SECURITY POLICY AND PROCEDURES

X

X

X

X

X

PS-6

ACCESS AGREEMENTS

X

X

X

PS-7

THIRD-PARTY PERSONNEL SECURITY

X

X

X

PV-1

PROVENANCE POLICY AND PROCEDURES

N/A

PV-2

TRACKING PROVENANCE AND DEVELOPING A
BASELINE

N/A

PV-2 (1)

TRACKING PROVENANCE AND DEVELOPING A BASELINE |AUTOMATED AND REPEATABLE PROCESSES

N/A

PV-3

AUDITING ROLES RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVENANCE

N/A

RA-1

RISK ASSESSMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURES

X

X

RA-2

SECURITY CATEGORIZATION

X

RA-3

RISK ASSESSMENT

SA-1

X

X

X

X

X

X

X
X

X

X

X

X

X

X
X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

SYSTEM AND SERVICES ACQUISITION POLICY AND
PROCEDURES

X

X

X

X

X

SA-2

ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES

X

X

X

X

SA-3

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE

X

X

X

X

X

SA-4

ACQUISITION PROCESS

X

X

X

X

X

APPENDIX A

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CONTROL NAMECNTL NO.
CONTROL ENHANCEMENT NAME

800-53 REV. 4
HIGH BASELINESCRMBASELINE

TIERS
1

2

3

SA-4 (5)ACQUISITION PROCESS | SYSTEM / COMPONENT / SERVICECONFIGURATIONS

SA-4 (7)ACQUISITION PROCESS | NIAP-APPROVED PROTECTIONPROFILES

SA-5

INFORMATION SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION

X

X

SA-8

SECURITY ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES

X

X(SA-9)(EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEM SERVICES)

(X)

(N/A)

SA-9 (1)

EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS | RISK ASSESSMENTS /ORGANIZATIONAL APPROVALSX

SA-9 (3)EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS | ESTABLISH /MAINTAIN TRUST RELATIONSHIP WITH PROVIDERSX

SA-9 (4)EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS | CONSISTENT
INTERESTS OF CONSUMERS AND PROVIDERS

X

X

SA-9 (5)EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS | PROCESSING,
STORAGE, AND SERVICE LOCATION

X

X

SA-10

DEVELOPER CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

X

X

SA-11

DEVELOPER SECURITY TESTING AND EVALUATION

X

X

SA-12

SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION

X

SA-12 (1)

X

X

X

X
X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | ACQUISITION STRATEGIES /TOOLS / METHODS

X

X

X

X

SA-12 (2)

SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | SUPPLIER REVIEWS

X

X

X

SA-12 (5)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | LIMITATION OF HARM

X

X

X

SA-12 (7)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | ASSESSMENTS PRIOR TO
SELECTION / ACCEPTANCE / UPDATE

X

X

X

SA-12 (8)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | USE OF ALL-SOURCEINTELLIGENCE

X

X

SA-12 (9)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | OPERATIONS SECURITY

X

X

X

SA-12 (10)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | VALIDATE AS GENUINE AND
NOT ALTERED

X

X

X

SA-12 (11)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | PENETRATION TESTING /ANALYSIS OF ELEMENTS, PROCESSES, AND ACTORS

X

X

SA-12 (12)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL
AGREEMENTS

X

X

X

SA-12 (13)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | CRITICAL INFORMATIONSYSTEM COMPONENTS

X

X

X

SA-12 (14)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | IDENTITY AND
TRACEABILITY

X

X

X

SA-12 (15)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | PROCESSES TO ADDRESSWEAKNESSES OR DEFICIENCIES

X

X

SA-13

TRUSTWORTHINESS

X

X

X

SA-14

CRITICALITY ANALYSIS

X

X

X

APPENDIX A

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CONTROL NAMECNTL NO.
CONTROL ENHANCEMENT NAME

800-53 REV. 4
HIGH BASELINESCRMBASELINE

X

TIERS
1

2

3

X

X

X

SA-15

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, STANDARDS, AND TOOLS

SA-15 (3)

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, STANDARDS, AND TOOLS |CRITICALITY ANALYSIS

X

X

X

SA-15 (4)DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, STANDARDS, AND TOOLS |THREAT MODELING / VULNERABILITY ANALYSIS

X

X

X

SA-15 (8)DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, STANDARDS, AND TOOLS |REUSE OF THREAT / VULNERABILITY INFORMATION

X

SA-16

DEVELOPER-PROVIDED TRAINING

X

X

X

X

SA-17

DEVELOPER SECURITY ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

X

X

X

X

SA-18

TAMPER RESISTANCE AND DETECTION

X

X

X

SA-18 (1)

TAMPER RESISTANCE AND DETECTION | MULTIPLE PHASESOF SDLC

X

X

X

SA-18 (2)

TAMPER RESISTANCE AND DETECTION | INSPECTION OF
INFORMATION SYSTEMS, COMPONENTS, OR DEVICES

X

X

X

SA-18 (3)

TAMPER RESISTANCE AND DETECTION | RETURN POLICY

X

X

X

SA-19

COMPONENT AUTHENTICITY

X

X

X

SA-19 (1)COMPONENT AUTHENTICITY | ANTI-COUNTERFEIT
TRAINING

X

X

X

SA-19 (2)COMPONENT AUTHENTICITY | CONFIGURATION CONTROLFOR COMPONENT SERVICE / REPAIR

X

X

X

SA-19 (3)COMPONENT AUTHENTICITY | COMPONENT DISPOSAL

X

X

X

SA-19 (4)COMPONENT AUTHENTICITY | ANTI-COUNTERFEITSCANNING

X

X

X

SA-20

CUSTOMIZED DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICALCOMPONENTS

X

X

SA-21

DEVELOPER SCREENING

X

X

X

SA-21 (1)DEVELOPER SCREENING | VALIDATION OF SCREENING

X

X

X

SA-22

UNSUPPORTED SYSTEM COMPONENTS

X

X

X

SA-22 (1)

UNSUPPORTED SYSTEM COMPONENTS | ALTERNATIVE
SOURCES FOR CONTINUED SUPPORT

X

X

X

SC-1

SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTION
POLICY AND PROCEDURES

X

X

X

X

SC-4

INFORMATION IN SHARED RESOURCES

X

X

X

X

SC-5

DENIAL OF SERVICE PROTECTION

X

X

X

SC-5 (2)DENIAL OF SERVICE PROTECTION | EXCESS CAPACITY /BANDWIDTH / REDUNDANCYSC-7BOUNDARY PROTECTION

SC-7 (13)BOUNDARY PROTECTION | ISOLATION OF SECURITY TOOLS/ MECHANISMS / SUPPORT COMPONENTSAPPENDIX A

N/A

X

X

X

X
X

X

X
X

PAGE A-8

Special Publication 800-161

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CONTROL NAMECNTL NO.
CONTROL ENHANCEMENT NAME

800-53 REV. 4
HIGH BASELINESCRMBASELINE

TIERS
1

2

3

SC-7 (19)

BOUNDARY PROTECTION | BLOCKS COMMUNICATIONFROM NON-ORGANIZATIONALLY CONFIGURED HOSTS

SC-8

TRANSMISSION CONFIDENTIALITY AND INTEGRITY

X

X

SC-18

MOBILE CODE

X

X

X

SC-18 (2)

MOBILE CODE | ACQUISITION / DEVELOPMENT / USE

X

X

SC-27

PLATFORM-INDEPENDENT APPLICATIONS

SC-28

PROTECTION OF INFORMATION AT REST

SC-29

HETEROGENEITY

SC-30

CONCEALMENT AND MISDIRECTION

SC-30 (2)

CONCEALMENT AND MISDIRECTION | RANDOMNESSX

XSC-30 (3)

CONCEALMENT AND MISDIRECTION | CHANGE
PROCESSING / STORAGE LOCATIONS

X

XSC-30 (4)CONCEALMENT AND MISDIRECTION | MISLEADINGINFORMATION

X

X

SC-30 (5)

CONCEALMENT AND MISDIRECTION | CONCEALMENT OFSYSTEM COMPONENTS

X

X

SC-36

DISTRIBUTED PROCESSING AND STORAGE

X

X(SC-37)(OUT-OF-BAND CHANNELS)

SC-37 (1)OUT-OF-BAND CHANNELS | ENSURE DELIVERY /TRANSMISSION

X

X

SC-38

OPERATIONS SECURITY

X

X

SI-1

SYSTEM AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY POLICY AND
PROCEDURES

X

X

X

X

SI-2

FLAW REMEDIATION

X

X

X

X

SI-2 (5)FLAW REMEDIATION | AUTOMATIC SOFTWARE / FIRMWARE
UPDATES

X

X

SI-4

INFORMATION SYSTEM MONITORING

SI-4 (17)

INFORMATION SYSTEM MONITORING | INTEGRATEDSITUATIONAL AWARENESS

SI-4 (19)

INFORMATION SYSTEM MONITORING | INDIVIDUALSPOSING GREATER RISK

SI-5

SECURITY ALERTS, ADVISORIES, AND DIRECTIVES

SI-7

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X
X

(N/A)

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

SOFTWARE, FIRMWARE, AND INFORMATIONINTEGRITY

X

X

X

X

SI-7 (14)SOFTWARE, FIRMWARE, AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY |BINARY OR MACHINE-EXECUTABLE CODE

X

X

X

X

SI-7 (15)SOFTWARE, FIRMWARE, AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY |CODE AUTHENTICATION

SI-12

INFORMATION HANDLING AND RETENTIONAPPENDIX A

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

PAGE A-9

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

APPENDIX BNIST SP 800-53 ICT SCRM-RELEVANT CONTROLSThis appendix provides a list of the information security controls from NIST Special Publication 800-53
Revision 4 that are directly relevant and apply to supply chain security. The list is categorizedalphabetically by existing information security control families. The specific controls within thosefamilies are ordered numerically. Note: Control families Program Management (PM) and Planning (PL)are listed separately, as they are considered an oversight activity and ordered as such in NIST SP 800-53
Revision 4. The controls in this publication are linked to the Chapter 3 SCRM guidance to provide an
expanded description and frame of reference to the SCRM guidance.
FAMILY: ACCESS CONTROL
AC-1

ACCESS CONTROL POLICY AND PROCEDURES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops, documents, and disseminates to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]:1.

An access control policy that addresses purpose, scope, roles, responsibilities, management
commitment, coordination among organizational entities, and compliance; and2.

Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the access control policy and associated access
controls; andReviews and updates the current:
1.

Access control policy [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; and2.

Access control procedures [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the establishment of policy and procedures for the effective

implementation of selected security controls and control enhancements in the AC family. Policy andprocedures reflect applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards,
and guidance. Security program policies and procedures at the organization level may make the need forsystem-specific policies and procedures unnecessary. The policy can be included as part of the general
information security policy for organizations or conversely, can be represented by multiple policies
reflecting the complex nature of certain organizations. The procedures can be established for the security
program in general and for particular information systems, if needed. The organizational risk management
strategy is a key factor in establishing policy and procedures. Related control: PM-9.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-12, 800-100.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:

P1

AC-2

LOW AC-1

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT

MOD AC-1

HIGH AC-1[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

APPENDIX B

Identifies and selects the following types of information system accounts to support organizational
missions/business functions: [Assignment: organization-defined information system account types];
PAGE B-1

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Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________b.

Assigns account managers for information system accounts;c.

Establishes conditions for group and role membership;d.

Specifies authorized users of the information system, group and role membership, and accessauthorizations (i.e., privileges) and other attributes (as required) for each account;e.

Requires approvals by [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles] for requests to create
information system accounts;f.

Creates, enables, modifies, disables, and removes information system accounts in accordance with
[Assignment: organization-defined procedures or conditions];g.

Monitors the use of, information system accounts;h.

Notifies account managers:i.

1.

When accounts are no longer required;

2.

When users are terminated or transferred; and3.

When individual information system usage or need-to-know changes;

Authorizes access to the information system based on:
1.

A valid access authorization;

2.

Intended system usage; and3.

Other attributes as required by the organization or associated missions/business functions;j.

Reviews accounts for compliance with account management requirements [Assignment: organizationdefined frequency]; andk.

Establishes a process for reissuing shared/group account credentials (if deployed) when individuals are
removed from the group.

Supplemental Guidance: Information system account types include, for example, individual, shared, group,

system, guest/anonymous, emergency, developer/manufacturer/vendor, temporary, and service. Some of
the account management requirements listed above can be implemented by organizational information
systems. The identification of authorized users of the information system and the specification of accessprivileges reflects the requirements in other security controls in the security plan. Users requiring
administrative privileges on information system accounts receive additional scrutiny by appropriateorganizational personnel (e.g., system owner, mission/business owner, or chief information security officer)
responsible for approving such accounts and privileged access. Organizations may choose to define accessprivileges or other attributes by account, by type of account, or a combination of both. Other attributes
required for authorizing access include, for example, restrictions on time-of-day, day-of-week, and pointof-origin. In defining other account attributes, organizations consider system-related requirements (e.g.,scheduled maintenance, system upgrades) and mission/business requirements, (e.g., time zone differences,
customer requirements, remote access to support travel requirements). Failure to consider these factors
could affect information system availability. Temporary and emergency accounts are accounts intended forshort-term use. Organizations establish temporary accounts as a part of normal account activation
procedures when there is a need for short-term accounts without the demand for immediacy in accountactivation. Organizations establish emergency accounts in response to crisis situations and with the need for
rapid account activation. Therefore, emergency account activation may bypass normal accountauthorization processes. Emergency and temporary accounts are not to be confused with infrequently usedaccounts (e.g., local logon accounts used for special tasks defined by organizations or when network
resources are unavailable). Such accounts remain available and are not subject to automatic disabling or
removal dates. Conditions for disabling or deactivating accounts include, for example: (i) whenshared/group, emergency, or temporary accounts are no longer required; or (ii) when individuals aretransferred or terminated. Some types of information system accounts may require specialized training.
Relate control: AC-3, AC-4, AC-5, AC-6, AC-10, AC-17, AC-19, AC-20, AU-9, IA-2, IA-4, IA-5, IA-8,
CM-5, CM-6, CM-11, MA-3, MA-4, MA-5, PL-4, SC-13.
APPENDIX B

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:

P1

AC-3

LOW AC-2

MOD AC-2 (1) (2) (3) (4)

HIGH AC-2 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (12) (13)ACCESS ENFORCEMENT[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The information system enforces approved authorizations for logical access to information andsystem resources in accordance with applicable access control policies.
Supplemental Guidance: Access control policies (e.g., identity-based policies, role-based policies, attribute-

based policies) and access enforcement mechanisms (e.g., access control lists, access control matrices,
cryptography) control access between active entities or subjects (i.e., users or processes acting on behalf ofusers) and passive entities or objects (e.g., devices, files, records, domains) in information systems. In
addition to enforcing authorized access at the information system level and recognizing that information
systems can host many applications and services in support of organizational missions and business
operations, access enforcement mechanisms can also be employed at the application and service level toprovide increased information security. Relate control: AC-2, AC-4, AC-5, AC-6, AC-16, AC-17, AC-18,
AC-19, AC-20, AC-21, AC-22, AU-9, CM-5, CM-6, CM-11, MA-3, MA-4, MA-5, PE-3.
AC-3 (8)ACCESS ENFORCEMENT | REVOCATION OF ACCESS AUTHORIZATIONS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The information system enforces the revocation of access authorizations resulting from changes
to the security attributes of subjects and objects based on [Assignment: organization-defined rules
governing the timing of revocations of access authorizations].
Supplemental Guidance: Revocation of access rules may differ based on the types of access revoked. For

example, if a subject (i.e., user or process) is removed from a group, access may not be revoked until
the next time the object (e.g., file) is opened or until the next time the subject attempts a new access tothe object. Revocation based on changes to security labels may take effect immediately. Organizations
can provide alternative approaches on how to make revocations immediate if information systems
cannot provide such capability and immediate revocation is necessary.

AC-3 (9)ACCESS ENFORCEMENT | CONTROLLED RELEASE[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The information system does not release information outside of the established system boundary
unless:a. The receiving [Assignment: organization-defined information system or system component]
provides [Assignment: organization-defined security safeguards]; andb. ([Assignment: organization-defined security safeguards] are used to validate theappropriateness of the information designated for release.
Supplemental Guidance: Information systems can only protect organizational information within theconfines of established system boundaries. Additional security safeguards may be needed to ensurethat such information is adequately protected once it is passed beyond the established information
system boundaries. Examples of information leaving the system boundary include transmitting
information to an external information system or printing the information on one of its printers. In
cases where the information system is unable to make a determination of the adequacy of theprotections provided by entities outside its boundary, as a mitigating control, organizations determine
procedurally whether the external information systems are providing adequate security. The means
used to determine the adequacy of the security provided by external information systems include, forexample, conducting inspections or periodic testing, establishing agreements between the organization
APPENDIX B

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Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________and its counterpart organizations, or some other process. The means used by external entities to protect
the information received need not be the same as those used by the organization, but the means
employed are sufficient to provide consistent adjudication of the security policy to protect the
information. This control enhancement requires information systems to employ technical or proceduralmeans to validate the information prior to releasing it to external systems. For example, if theinformation system passes information to another system controlled by another organization, technicalmeans are employed to validate that the security attributes associated with the exported information areappropriate for the receiving system. Alternatively, if the information system passes information to a
printer in organization-controlled space, procedural means can be employed to ensure that only
appropriately authorized individuals gain access to the printer. This control enhancement is mostapplicable when there is some policy mandate (e.g., law, Executive Order, directive, or regulation) that
establishes policy regarding access to the information, and that policy applies beyond the realm of aparticular information system or organization.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

AC-4

LOW AC-3

INFORMATION FLOW ENFORCEMENT

MOD AC-3

HIGH AC-3[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The information system enforces approved authorizations for controlling the flow of information

within the system and between interconnected systems based on [Assignment: organization-defined
information flow control policies].
Supplemental Guidance: Information flow control regulates where information is allowed to travel within an

information system and between information systems (as opposed to who is allowed to access theinformation) and without explicit regard to subsequent accesses to that information. Flow control
restrictions include, for example, keeping export-controlled information from being transmitted in the clear
to the Internet, blocking outside traffic that claims to be from within the organization, restricting web
requests to the Internet that are not from the internal web proxy server, and limiting information transfers
between organizations based on data structures and content. Transferring information between information
systems representing different security domains with different security policies introduces risk that suchtransfers violate one or more domain security policies. In such situations, information owners/stewards
provide guidance at designated policy enforcement points between interconnected systems. Organizations
consider mandating specific architectural solutions when required to enforce specific security policies.
Enforcement includes, for example: (i) prohibiting information transfers between interconnected systems(i.e., allowing access only); (ii) employing hardware mechanisms to enforce one-way information flows;and (iii) implementing trustworthy regarding mechanisms to reassign security attributes and security labels.
Organizations commonly employ information flow control policies and enforcement mechanisms to control
the flow of information between designated sources and destinations (e.g., networks, individuals, anddevices) within information systems and between interconnected systems. Flow control is based on thecharacteristics of the information and/or the information path. Enforcement occurs, for example, inboundary protection devices (e.g., gateways, routers, guards, encrypted tunnels, firewalls) that employ rulesets or establish configuration settings that restrict information system services, provide a packet-filtering
capability based on header information, or message-filtering capability based on message content (e.g.,
implementing key word searches or using document characteristics). Organizations also consider thetrustworthiness of filtering/inspection mechanisms (i.e., hardware, firmware, and software components)that are critical to information flow enforcement. Control enhancements 3 through 22 primarily address
cross-domain solution needs which focus on more advanced filtering techniques, in-depth analysis, andstronger flow enforcement mechanisms implemented in cross-domain products, for example, highassurance guards. Such capabilities are generally not available in commercial off-the-shelf information
APPENDIX B

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

technology products. Related controls: AC-3, AC-17, AC-19, AC-21, CM-6, CM-7, SA-8, SC-2, SC-5, SC7, SC-18.

AC-4(6)

INFORMATION FLOW ENFORCEMENT | METADATA[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The information system enforces information flow control based on [Assignment: organizationdefined metadata].
Supplemental Guidance: Metadata is information used to describe the characteristics of data. Metadata

can include structural metadata describing data structures (e.g., data format, syntax, and semantics) or
descriptive metadata describing data contents (e.g., age, location, telephone number). Enforcing
allowed information flows based on metadata enables simpler and more effective flow control.
Organizations consider the trustworthiness of metadata with regard to data accuracy (i.e., knowledge
that the metadata values are correct with respect to the data), data integrity (i.e., protecting against
unauthorized changes to metadata tags), and the binding of metadata to the data payload (i.e., ensuring
sufficiently strong binding techniques with appropriate levels of assurance). Related controls: AC-16,
SI-7.

AC-4 (17)

INFORMATION FLOW ENFORCEMENT | DOMAIN AUTHENTICATION[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The information system uniquely identifies and authenticates source and destination points by[Selection (one or more): organization, system, application, individual] for information transfer.
Supplemental Guidance: Attribution is a critical component of a security concept of operations. The

ability to identify source and destination points for information flowing in information systems, allows
the forensic reconstruction of events when required, and encourages policy compliance by attributing
policy violations to specific organizations/individuals. Successful domain authentication requires that
information system labels distinguish among systems, organizations, and individuals involved in
preparing, sending, receiving, or disseminating information. Related controls: IA-2, IA-3, IA-4, IA-5.

AC-4 (19)

INFORMATION FLOW ENFORCEMENT | VALIDATION OF METADATA[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The information system, when transferring information between different security domains,applies the same security policy filtering to metadata as it applies to data payloads.
Supplemental Guidance: This control enhancement requires the validation of metadata and the data towhich the metadata applies. Some organizations distinguish between metadata and data payloads (i.e.,
only the data to which the metadata is bound). Other organizations do not make such distinctions,considering metadata and the data to which the metadata applies as part of the payload. All information(including metadata and the data to which the metadata applies) is subject to filtering and inspection.

AC-4 (21)

INFORMATION FLOW ENFORCEMENT | PHYSICAL / LOGICAL SEPARATION OF
INFORMATION FLOWS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The information system separates information flows logically or physically using [Assignment:
organization-defined mechanisms and/or techniques] to accomplish [Assignment: organizationdefined required separations by types of information].
Supplemental Guidance: Enforcing the separation of information flows by type can enhance protection by

ensuring that information is not commingled while in transit and by enabling flow control bytransmission paths perhaps not otherwise achievable. Types of separable information include, for

APPENDIX B

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

example, inbound and outbound communications traffic, service requests and responses, andinformation of differing security categories.
References: Web: ucdmo.gov.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

AC-5

LOW Not Selected

MOD AC-4

SEPARATION OF DUTIESHIGH AC-4[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Separates [Assignment: organization-defined duties of individuals];b.

Documents separation of duties of individuals; andc.

Defines information system access authorizations to support separation of duties.

Supplemental Guidance: Separation of duties addresses the potential for abuse of authorized privileges andhelps to reduce the risk of malevolent activity without collusion. Separation of duties includes, forexample: (i) dividing mission functions and information system support functions among different
individuals and/or roles; (ii) conducting information system support functions with different individuals(e.g., system management, programming, configuration management, quality assurance and testing, andnetwork security); and (iii) ensuring security personnel administering access control functions do not also
administer audit functions. Related controls: AC-3, AC-6, PE-3, PE-4, PS-2.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

AC-6

LOW Not Selected

MOD AC-5

LEAST PRIVILEGEHIGH AC-5[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization employs the principle of least privilege, allowing only authorized accesses forusers (or processes acting on behalf of users) which are necessary to accomplish assigned tasks inaccordance with organizational missions and business functions.
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations employ least privilege for specific duties and information systems.

The principle of least privilege is also applied to information system processes, ensuring that the processes
operate at privilege levels no higher than necessary to accomplish required organizational
missions/business functions. Organizations consider the creation of additional processes, roles, andinformation system accounts as necessary, to achieve least privilege. Organizations also apply leastprivilege to the development, implementation, and operation of organizational information systems.
Related controls: AC-2, AC-3, AC-5, CM-6, CM-7, PL-2.
AC-6(6)LEAST PRIVILEGE | PRIVILEGED ACCESS BY NON-ORGANIZATIONAL USERS [BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]
The organization prohibits privileged access to the information system by non-organizational users.
Supplemental Guidance: Related control: IA-8.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
P1

AC-17

LOW Not Selected

MOD AC-6 (1) (2) (5) (9) (10)

HIGH AC-6 (1) (2) (3) (5) (9) (10)REMOTE ACCESS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Establishes and documents usage restrictions, configuration/connection requirements, andimplementation guidance for each type of remote access allowed; andb.

Authorizes remote access to the information system prior to allowing such connections.

Supplemental Guidance: Remote access is access to organizational information systems by users (or processes

acting on behalf of users) communicating through external networks (e.g., the Internet). Remote accessmethods include, for example, dial-up, broadband, and wireless. Organizations often employ encryptedvirtual private networks (VPNs) to enhance confidentiality and integrity over remote connections. The useof encrypted VPNs does not make the access non-remote; however, the use of VPNs, when adequately
provisioned with appropriate security controls (e.g., employing appropriate encryption techniques forconfidentiality and integrity protection) may provide sufficient assurance to the organization that it caneffectively treat such connections as internal networks. Still, VPN connections traverse external networks,
and the encrypted VPN does not enhance the availability of remote connections. Also, VPNs withencrypted tunnels can affect the organizational capability to adequately monitor network communications
traffic for malicious code. Remote access controls apply to information systems other than public web
servers or systems designed for public access. This control addresses authorization prior to allowing remote
access without specifying the formats for such authorization. While organizations may use interconnection
security agreements to authorize remote access connections, such agreements are not required by thiscontrol. Enforcing access restrictions for remote connections is addressed in AC-3. Related controls: AC-2,
AC-3, AC-18, AC-19, AC-20, CA-3, CA-7, CM-8, IA-2, IA-3, IA-8, MA-4, PE-17, PL-4, SC-10, SI-4.
AC-17(6)REMOTE ACCESS | PROTECTION OF INFORMATION[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization ensures that users protect information about remote access mechanisms fromunauthorized use and disclosure.
Supplemental Guidance: Related controls: AT-2, AT-3, PS-6.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-46, 800-77, 800-113, 800-114, 800-121.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

AC-18

LOW AC-17

MOD AC-17 (1) (2) (3) (4)WIRELESS ACCESSHIGH AC-17 (1) (2) (3) (4)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Establishes usage restrictions, configuration/connection requirements, and implementation guidance
for wireless access; andb.

Authorizes wireless access to the information system prior to allowing such connections.

Supplemental Guidance: Wireless technologies include, for example, microwave, packet radio (UHF/VHF),

802.11x, and Bluetooth. Wireless networks use authentication protocols (e.g., EAP/TLS, PEAP), which
provide credential protection and mutual authentication. Related controls: AC-2, AC-3, AC-17, AC-19,
CA-3, CA-7, CM-8, IA-2, IA-3, IA-8, PL-4, SI-4.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-48, 800-94, 800-97.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
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Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
P1
AC-19

LOW AC-18

MOD AC-18 (1)ACCESS CONTROL FOR MOBILE DEVICESHIGH AC-18 (1) (4) (5)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Establishes usage restrictions, configuration requirements, connection requirements, andimplementation guidance for organization-controlled mobile devices; andb.

Authorizes the connection of mobile devices to organizational information systems.

Supplemental Guidance: A mobile device is a computing device that: (i) has a small form factor such that it

can easily be carried by a single individual; (ii) is designed to operate without a physical connection (e.g.,
wirelessly transmit or receive information); (iii) possesses local, non-removable or removable data storage;and (iv) includes a self-contained power source. Mobile devices may also include voice communication
capabilities, on-board sensors that allow the device to capture information, and/or built-in features forsynchronizing local data with remote locations. Examples include smart phones, E-readers, and tablets.
Mobile devices are typically associated with a single individual and the device is usually in close proximity
to the individual; however, the degree of proximity can vary depending upon on the form factor and size ofthe device. The processing, storage, and transmission capability of the mobile device may be comparable toor merely a subset of desktop systems, depending upon the nature and intended purpose of the device. Dueto the large variety of mobile devices with different technical characteristics and capabilities, organizational
restrictions may vary for the different classes/types of such devices. Usage restrictions and specificimplementation guidance for mobile devices include, for example, configuration management, device
identification and authentication, implementation of mandatory protective software (e.g., malicious code
detection, firewall), scanning devices for malicious code, updating virus protection software, scanning forcritical software updates and patches, conducting primary operating system (and possibly other resident
software) integrity checks, and disabling unnecessary hardware (e.g., wireless, infrared). Organizations are
cautioned that the need to provide adequate security for mobile devices goes beyond the requirements inthis control. Many safeguards and countermeasures for mobile devices are reflected in other security
controls in the catalog allocated in the initial control baselines as starting points for the development of
security plans and overlays using the tailoring process. There may also be some degree of overlap in therequirements articulated by the security controls within the different families of controls. AC-20 addresses
mobile devices that are not organization-controlled. Related controls: AC-3, AC-7, AC-18, AC-20, CA-9,
CM-2, IA-2, IA-3, MP-2, MP-4, MP-5, PL-4, SC-7, SC-43, SI-3, SI-4.
References: OMB Memorandum 06-16; NIST Special Publications 800-114, 800-124, 800-164.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

AC-20

LOW AC-19

MOD AC-19 (5)USE OF EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMSHIGH AC-19 (5)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization establishes terms and conditions, consistent with any trust relationships

established with other organizations owning, operating, and/or maintaining external information systems,
allowing authorized individuals to:a.

Access the information system from external information systems; andb.

Process, store, or transmit organization-controlled information using external information systems.

Supplemental Guidance: External information systems are information systems or components of information

systems that are outside of the authorization boundary established by organizations and for whichorganizations typically have no direct supervision and authority over the application of required security
controls or the assessment of control effectiveness. External information systems include, for example: (i)personally owned information systems/devices (e.g., notebook computers, smart phones, tablets, personal
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Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

digital assistants); (ii) privately owned computing and communications devices resident in commercial or
public facilities (e.g., hotels, train stations, convention centers, shopping malls, or airports); (iii)
information systems owned or controlled by nonfederal governmental organizations; and (iv) federal
information systems that are not owned by, operated by, or under the direct supervision and authority oforganizations. This control also addresses the use of external information systems for the processing,storage, or transmission of organizational information, including, for example, accessing cloud services(e.g., infrastructure as a service, platform as a service, or software as a service) from organizational
information systems.
For some external information systems (i.e., information systems operated by other federal agencies,
including organizations subordinate to those agencies), the trust relationships that have been establishedbetween those organizations and the originating organization may be such, that no explicit terms andconditions are required. Information systems within these organizations would not be considered external.
These situations occur when, for example, there are pre-existing sharing/trust agreements (either implicit or
explicit) established between federal agencies or organizations subordinate to those agencies, or when such
trust agreements are specified by applicable laws, Executive Orders, directives, or policies. Authorizedindividuals include, for example, organizational personnel, contractors, or other individuals with authorizedaccess to organizational information systems and over which organizations have the authority to impose
rules of behavior with regard to system access. Restrictions that organizations impose on authorizedindividuals need not be uniform, as those restrictions may vary depending upon the trust relationships
between organizations. Therefore, organizations may choose to impose different security restrictions oncontractors than on state, local, or tribal governments.
This control does not apply to the use of external information systems to access public interfaces toorganizational information systems (e.g., individuals accessing federal information through www.usa.gov).
Organizations establish terms and conditions for the use of external information systems in accordance withorganizational security policies and procedures. Terms and conditions address as a minimum: types ofapplications that can be accessed on organizational information systems from external information systems;
and the highest security category of information that can be processed, stored, or transmitted on external
information systems. If terms and conditions with the owners of external information systems cannot beestablished, organizations may impose restrictions on organizational personnel using those external
systems. Related controls: AC-3, AC-17, AC-19, CA-3, PL-4, SA-9.
AC-20(1)USE OF EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS | LIMITS ON AUTHORIZED USE[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization permits authorized individuals to use an external information system to accessthe information system or to process, store, or transmit organization-controlled information only
when the organization:(a) Verifies the implementation of required security controls on the external system as
specified in the organization’s information security policy and security plan; or(b)Retains approved information system connection or processing agreements with theorganizational entity hosting the external information system.

Supplemental Guidance: This control enhancement recognizes that there are circumstances whereindividuals using external information systems (e.g., contractors, coalition partners) need to accessorganizational information systems. In those situations, organizations need confidence that the external
information systems contain the necessary security safeguards (i.e., security controls), so as not tocompromise, damage, or otherwise harm organizational information systems. Verification that therequired security controls have been implemented can be achieved, for example, by third-party,
independent assessments, attestations, or other means, depending on the confidence level required byorganizations. Related control: CA-2.
AC-20(3)APPENDIX B

USE OF EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS | NON-ORGANIZATIONALLYOWNED SYSTEMS / COMPONENTS / DEVICES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]PAGE B-9

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________The organization [Selection: restricts; prohibits] the use of non-organizationally owned
information systems, system components, or devices to process, store, or transmit organizational
information.
Supplemental Guidance: Non-organizationally owned devices include devices owned by otherorganizations (e.g., federal/state agencies, contractors) and personally owned devices. There are risks
to using non-organizationally owned devices. In some cases, the risk is sufficiently high as to prohibit
such use. In other cases, it may be such that the use of non-organizationally owned devices is allowed
but restricted in some way. Restrictions include, for example: (i) requiring the implementation oforganization-approved security controls prior to authorizing such connections; (ii) limiting access tocertain types of information, services, or applications; (iii) using virtualization techniques to limit
processing and storage activities to servers or other system components provisioned by theorganization; and (iv) agreeing to terms and conditions for usage. For personally owned devices,
organizations consult with the Office of the General Counsel regarding legal issues associated withusing such devices in operational environments, including, for example, requirements for conducting
forensic analyses during investigations after an incident.
References: FIPS Publication 199.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

AC-21

LOW AC-20

MOD AC-20 (1) (2)

INFORMATION SHARINGHIGH AC-20 (1) (2)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Facilitates information sharing by enabling authorized users to determine whether accessauthorizations assigned to the sharing partner match the access restrictions on the information for[Assignment: organization-defined information sharing circumstances where user discretion isrequired]; andb.

Employs [Assignment: organization-defined automated mechanisms or manual processes] to assist
users in making information sharing/collaboration decisions.

Supplemental Guidance: This control applies to information that may be restricted in some manner (e.g.,

privileged medical information, contract-sensitive information, proprietary information, personallyidentifiable information, classified information related to special access programs or compartments) basedon some formal or administrative determination. Depending on the particular information-sharing
circumstances, sharing partners may be defined at the individual, group, or organizational level.
Information may be defined by content, type, security category, or special access program/compartment.
Related control: AC-3.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P2

AC-22

LOW Not Selected

PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE CONTENT

MOD AC-21

HIGH AC-21[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Designates individuals authorized to post information onto a publicly accessible information system;

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Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________b.

Trains authorized individuals to ensure that publicly accessible information does not contain nonpublic
information;c.

Reviews the proposed content of information prior to posting onto the publicly accessible information
system to ensure that nonpublic information is not included; andd.

Reviews the content on the publicly accessible information system for nonpublic information[Assignment: organization-defined frequency] and removes such information, if discovered.

Supplemental Guidance: In accordance with federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations,standards, and/or guidance, the general public is not authorized access to nonpublic information (e.g.,
information protected under the Privacy Act and proprietary information). This control addresses
information systems that are controlled by the organization and accessible to the general public, typicallywithout identification or authentication. The posting of information on non-organization information
systems is covered by organizational policy. Related controls: AC-3, AC-4, AT-2, AT-3, AU-13.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P3

AC-24

LOW AC-22

MOD AC-22

ACCESS CONTROL DECISIONSHIGH AC-22[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization establishes procedures to ensure [Assignment: organization-defined access control

decisions] are applied to each access request prior to access enforcement.
Supplemental Guidance: Access control decisions (also known as authorization decisions) occur whenauthorization information is applied to specific accesses. In contrast, access enforcement occurs when
information systems enforce access control decisions. While it is very common to have access control
decisions and access enforcement implemented by the same entity, it is not required and it is not always an
optimal implementation choice. For some architectures and distributed information systems, different
entities may perform access control decisions and access enforcement.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P0

APPENDIX B

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

HIGH Not Selected

PAGE B-11

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: AWARENESS AND TRAINING
AT-1

SECURITY AWARENESS AND TRAINING POLICY AND PROCEDURES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops, documents, and disseminates to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]:1.

A security awareness and training policy that addresses purpose, scope, roles, responsibilities,
management commitment, coordination among organizational entities, and compliance; and2.

Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the security awareness and training policy andassociated security awareness and training controls; andReviews and updates the current:
1.

Security awareness and training policy [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; and2.

Security awareness and training procedures [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the establishment of policy and procedures for the effective

implementation of selected security controls and control enhancements in the AT family. Policy andprocedures reflect applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards,
and guidance. Security program policies and procedures at the organization level may make the need forsystem-specific policies and procedures unnecessary. The policy can be included as part of the general
information security policy for organizations or conversely, can be represented by multiple policies
reflecting the complex nature of certain organizations. The procedures can be established for the security
program in general and for particular information systems, if needed. The organizational risk management
strategy is a key factor in establishing policy and procedures. Related control: PM-9.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-12, 800-16, 800-50, 800-100.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

AT-3

LOW AT-1

ROLE BASED SECURITY TRAINING

MOD AT-1

HIGH AT-1[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization provides role-based security training to personnel with assigned security roles andresponsibilities:
a. Before authorizing access to the information system or performing assigned duties;
b. When required by information system changes; andc. [Assignment: organization-defined frequency] thereafter.
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations determine the appropriate content of security training based on theassigned roles and responsibilities of individuals and the specific security requirements of organizations
and the information systems to which personnel have authorized access. In addition, organizations provide
enterprise architects, information system developers, software developers, acquisition/procurement
officials, information system managers, system/network administrators, personnel conducting configuration
management and auditing activities, personnel performing independent verification and validation
activities, security control assessors, and other personnel having access to system-level software, adequate
security-related technical training specifically tailored for their assigned duties. Comprehensive role-based
training addresses management, operational, and technical roles and responsibilities covering physical,
personnel, and technical safeguards and countermeasures. Such training can include for example, policies,
procedures, tools, and artifacts for the organizational security roles defined. Organizations also provide thetraining necessary for individuals to carry out their responsibilities related to operations and supply chain
security within the context of organizational information security programs. Role-based security training
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

also applies to contractors providing services to federal agencies. Related controls: AT-2, AT-4, PL-4, PS7, SA-3, SA-12, SA-16.
AT-3 (2)

SECURITY TRAINING | PHYSICAL SECURITY CONTROLS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization provides [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles] with initial and[Assignment: organization-defined frequency] training in the employment and operation ofphysical security controls.
Supplemental Guidance: Physical security controls include, for example, physical access control
devices, physical intrusion alarms, monitoring/surveillance equipment, and security guards(deployment and operating procedures). Organizations identify personnel with specific roles andresponsibilities associated with physical security controls requiring specialized training. Related
controls: PE-2, PE-3, PE-4, PE-5.
References: C.F.R. Part 5 Subpart C (5 C.F.R. 930.301); NIST Special Publications 800-16, 800-50.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

APPENDIX B

LOW AT-3

MOD AT-3

HIGH AT-3

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Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
AU-1

AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY POLICY AND PROCEDURES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops, documents, and disseminates to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]:1.

An audit and accountability policy that addresses purpose, scope, roles, responsibilities,
management commitment, coordination among organizational entities, and compliance; and2.

Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the audit and accountability policy and associatedaudit and accountability controls; andReviews and updates the current:
1.

Audit and accountability policy [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; and2.

Audit and accountability procedures [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the establishment of policy and procedures for the effective

implementation of selected security controls and control enhancements in the AU family. Policy andprocedures reflect applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards,
and guidance. Security program policies and procedures at the organization level may make the need forsystem-specific policies and procedures unnecessary. The policy can be included as part of the general
information security policy for organizations or conversely, can be represented by multiple policies
reflecting the complex nature of certain organizations. The procedures can be established for the security
program in general and for particular information systems, if needed. The organizational risk management
strategy is a key factor in establishing policy and procedures. Related control: PM-9.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-12, 800-100.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

AU-2

LOW AU-1

AUDIT EVENTSMOD AU-1

HIGH AU-1[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.
b.

Determines that the information system is capable of auditing the following events: [Assignment:
organization-defined auditable events];
Coordinates the security audit function with other organizational entities requiring audit-related
information to enhance mutual support and to help guide the selection of auditable events;c.

Provides a rationale for why the auditable events are deemed to be adequate to support after-the-fact
investigations of security incidents; andd.

Determines that the following events are to be audited within the information system: [Assignment:
organization-defined audited events (the subset of the auditable events defined in AU-2 a.) along withthe frequency of (or situation requiring) auditing for each identified event].

Supplemental Guidance: An event is any observable occurrence in an organizational information system.

Organizations identify audit events as those events which are significant and relevant to the security of
information systems and the environments in which those systems operate in order to meet specific andongoing audit needs. Audit events can include, for example, password changes, failed logons, or failed
accesses related to information systems, administrative privilege usage, PIV credential usage, or third-party
credential usage. In determining the set of auditable events, organizations consider the auditing appropriate
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Special Publication 800-161

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

for each of the security controls to be implemented. To balance auditing requirements with otherinformation system needs, this control also requires identifying that subset of auditable events that areaudited at a given point in time. For example, organizations may determine that information systems musthave the capability to log every file access both successful and unsuccessful, but not activate that capability
except for specific circumstances due to the potential burden on system performance. Auditing
requirements, including the need for auditable events, may be referenced in other security controls andcontrol enhancements. Organizations also include auditable events that are required by applicable federallaws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations, and standards. Audit records can be generated atvarious levels of abstraction, including at the packet level as information traverses the network. Selecting
the appropriate level of abstraction is a critical aspect of an audit capability and can facilitate theidentification of root causes to problems. Organizations consider in the definition of auditable events, theauditing necessary to cover related events such as the steps in distributed, transaction-based processes (e.g.,
processes that are distributed across multiple organizations) and actions that occur in service-oriented
architectures. Related controls: AC-6, AC-17, AU-3, AU-12, MA-4, MP-2, MP-4, SI-4.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-92; Web: csrc.nist.gov/pcig/cig.html, idmanagement.gov.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

AU-6

LOW AU-2

MOD AU-2 (3)AUDIT REVIEW, ANALYSIS, AND REPORTING

HIGH AU-2 (3)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Reviews and analyzes information system audit records [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]
for indications of [Assignment: organization-defined inappropriate or unusual activity]; andb.

Reports findings to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles].

Supplemental Guidance: Audit review, analysis, and reporting covers information security-related auditing

performed by organizations including, for example, auditing that results from monitoring of account usage,
remote access, wireless connectivity, mobile device connection, configuration settings, system component
inventory, use of maintenance tools and nonlocal maintenance, physical access, temperature and humidity,
equipment delivery and removal, communications at the information system boundaries, use of mobile
code, and use of VoIP. Findings can be reported to organizational entities that include, for example,
incident response team, help desk, information security group/department. If organizations are prohibitedfrom reviewing and analyzing audit information or unable to conduct such activities (e.g., in certain
national security applications or systems), the review/analysis may be carried out by other organizations
granted such authority. Related controls: AC-2, AC-3, AC-6, AC-17, AT-3, AU-7, AU-16, CA-7, CM-5,
CM-10, CM-11, IA-3, IA-5, IR-5, IR-6, MA-4, MP-4, PE-3, PE-6, PE-14, PE-16, RA-5, SC-7, SC-18, SC19, SI-3, SI-4, SI-7.
AU-6 (9)

AUDIT REVIEW, ANALYSIS, AND REPORTING | CORRELATION WITH
INFORMATION FROM NONTECHNICAL SOURCES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization correlates information from nontechnical sources with audit information toenhance organization-wide situational awareness.
Supplemental Guidance: Nontechnical sources include, for example, human resources records

documenting organizational policy violations (e.g., sexual harassment incidents, improper use oforganizational information assets). Such information can lead organizations to a more directed
analytical effort to detect potential malicious insider activity. Due to the sensitive nature of theinformation available from nontechnical sources, organizations limit access to such information tominimize the potential for the inadvertent release of privacy-related information to individuals that do
not have a need to know. Thus, correlation of information from nontechnical sources with audit
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

information generally occurs only when individuals are suspected of being involved in a security
incident. Organizations obtain legal advice prior to initiating such actions. Related control: AT-2.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

AU-10

LOW AU-6

MOD AU-6 (1) (3)

HIGH AU-6 (1) (3) (5) (6)NON-REPUDIATION[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The information system protects against an individual (or process acting on behalf of an individual)

falsely denying having performed [Assignment: organization-defined actions to be covered by nonrepudiation].
Supplemental Guidance: Types of individual actions covered by non-repudiation include, for example,

creating information, sending and receiving messages, approving information (e.g., indicating concurrenceor signing a contract). Non-repudiation protects individuals against later claims by: (i) authors of nothaving authored particular documents; (ii) senders of not having transmitted messages; (iii) receivers of nothaving received messages; or (iv) signatories of not having signed documents. Non-repudiation services
can be used to determine if information originated from a particular individual, or if an individual took
specific actions (e.g., sending an email, signing a contract, approving a procurement request) or received
specific information. Organizations obtain non-repudiation services by employing various techniques ormechanisms (e.g., digital signatures, digital message receipts). Related controls: SC-12, SC-8, SC-13, SC16, SC-17, SC-23.
AU-10 (1)

NON-REPUDIATION | ASSOCIATION OF IDENTITIES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The information system:
a. Binds the identity of the information producer with the information to [Assignment:
organization-defined strength of binding]; andb. Provides the means for authorized individuals to determine the identity of the producerof the information.
Supplemental Guidance: This control enhancement supports audit requirements that provide
organizational personnel with the means to identify who produced specific information in theevent of an information transfer. Organizations determine and approve the strength of the binding
between the information producer and the information based on the security category of theinformation and relevant risk factors. Related controls: AC-4, AC-16.
AU-10 (2)NON-REPUDIATION | VALIDATE BINDING OF INFORMATION PRODUCER
IDENTITY[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The information system:(a)

Validates the binding of the information producer identity to the information at[Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; and(b) Performs [Assignment: organization-defined actions] in the event of a validation error.
Supplemental Guidance: This control enhancement prevents the modification of information between
production and review. The validation of bindings can be achieved, for example, by the use of
cryptographic checksums. Organizations determine if validations are in response to user requests orgenerated automatically. Related controls: AC-3, AC-4, AC-16.

AU-10 (3)APPENDIX B

NON-REPUDIATION | CHAIN OF CUSTODY[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]PAGE B-16

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________The information system maintains reviewer/releaser identity and credentials within theestablished chain of custody for all information reviewed or released.
Supplemental Guidance: Chain of custody is a process that tracks the movement of evidence through its
collection, safeguarding, and analysis life cycle by documenting each person who handled theevidence, the date and time it was collected or transferred, and the purpose for the transfer. If thereviewer is a human or if the review function is automated but separate from the release/transfer
function, the information system associates the identity of the reviewer of the information to bereleased with the information and the information label. In the case of human reviews, this control
enhancement provides organizational officials the means to identify who reviewed and released theinformation. In the case of automated reviews, this control enhancement ensures that only approved
review functions are employed. Related controls: AC-4, AC-16.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P2

AU-12

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

AUDIT GENERATIONHIGH AU-10[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The information system:a.

Provides audit record generation capability for the auditable events defined in AU-2 a. at [Assignment:
organization-defined information system components];b.

Allows [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles] to select which auditable events are to
be audited by specific components of the information system; andc.

Generates audit records for the events defined in AU-2 d. with the content defined in AU-3.

Supplemental Guidance: Audit records can be generated from many different information system components.

The list of audited events is the set of events for which audits are to be generated. These events are
typically a subset of all events for which the information system is capable of generating audit records.
Related controls: AC-3, AU-2, AU-3, AU-6, AU-7.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

AU-13

LOW AU-12

MOD AU-12

MONITORING FOR INFORMATION DISCLOSURE

HIGH AU-12 (1) (3)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization monitors [Assignment: organization-defined open source information and/or

information sites] [Assignment: organization-defined frequency] for evidence of unauthorized disclosure oforganizational information.
Supplemental Guidance: Open source information includes, for example, social networking sites. Related
controls: PE-3, SC-7.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P0
APPENDIX B

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

HIGH Not Selected
PAGE B-17

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

AU-16

CROSS-ORGANIZATIONAL AUDITING[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization employs [Assignment: organization-defined methods] for coordinating[Assignment: organization-defined audit information] among external organizations when audit
information is transmitted across organizational boundaries.
Supplemental Guidance: When organizations use information systems and/or services of externalorganizations, the auditing capability necessitates a coordinated approach across organizations. For
example, maintaining the identity of individuals that requested particular services across organizationalboundaries may often be very difficult, and doing so may prove to have significant performance
ramifications. Therefore, it is often the case that cross-organizational auditing (e.g., the type of auditing
capability provided by service-oriented architectures) simply captures the identity of individuals issuing
requests at the initial information system, and subsequent systems record that the requests emanated from
authorized individuals. Related control: AU-6.
AU-16(2)

CROSS-ORGANIZATIONAL AUDITING | SHARING OF AUDIT INFORMATION[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization provides cross-organizational audit information to [Assignment: organization-definedorganizations] based on [Assignment: organization-defined cross-organizational sharing agreements].
Supplemental Guidance: Because of the distributed nature of the audit information, cross-organization

sharing of audit information may be essential for effective analysis of the auditing being performed.
For example, the audit records of one organization may not provide sufficient information to determine
the appropriate or inappropriate use of organizational information resources by individuals in otherorganizations. In some instances, only the home organizations of individuals have the appropriate
knowledge to make such determinations, thus requiring the sharing of audit information amongorganizations.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P0

APPENDIX B

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

HIGH Not Selected

PAGE B-18

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: SECURITY ASSESSMENT AND AUTHORIZATION
CA-1

SECURITY ASSESSMENT AND AUTHORIZATION POLICY AND PROCEDURES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]
Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops, documents, and disseminates to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]:1.

A security assessment and authorization policy that addresses purpose, scope, roles,
responsibilities, management commitment, coordination among organizational entities, andcompliance; and2.

Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the security assessment and authorization
policy and associated security assessment and authorization controls; andReviews and updates the current:
1.

Security assessment and authorization policy [Assignment: organization-defined frequency];
and2.

Security assessment and authorization procedures [Assignment: organization-defined
frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the establishment of policy and procedures for the effective

implementation of selected security controls and control enhancements in the CA family. Policy andprocedures reflect applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards,
and guidance. Security program policies and procedures at the organization level may make the need forsystem-specific policies and procedures unnecessary. The policy can be included as part of the general
information security policy for organizations or conversely, can be represented by multiple policies
reflecting the complex nature of certain organizations. The procedures can be established for the security
program in general and for particular information systems, if needed. The organizational risk management
strategy is a key factor in establishing policy and procedures. Related control: PM-9.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-12, 800-37, 800-53A, 800-100.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

CA-2

LOW CA-1

MOD CA-1

HIGH CA-1

SECURITY ASSESSMENTS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Develops a security assessment plan that describes the scope of the assessment including:1.

Security controls and control enhancements under assessment;

2.

Assessment procedures to be used to determine security control effectiveness; and3.

Assessment environment, assessment team, and assessment roles and responsibilities;b.

Assesses the security controls in the information system and its environment of operation [Assignment:
organization-defined frequency] to determine the extent to which the controls are implemented
correctly, operating as intended, and producing the desired outcome with respect to meeting
established security requirements;c.

Produces a security assessment report that documents the results of the assessment; andd.

Provides the results of the security control assessment to [Assignment: organization-defined
individuals or roles].

APPENDIX B

PAGE B-19

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations assess security controls in organizational information systems and theenvironments in which those systems operate as part of: (i) initial and ongoing security authorizations; (ii)FISMA annual assessments; (iii) continuous monitoring; and (iv) system development life cycle activities.
Security assessments: (i) ensure that information security is built into organizational information systems;(ii) identify weaknesses and deficiencies early in the development process; (iii) provide essential
information needed to make risk-based decisions as part of security authorization processes; and (iv) ensurecompliance to vulnerability mitigation procedures. Assessments are conducted on the implemented security
controls from Appendix F (main catalog) and Appendix G (Program Management controls) as documented
in System Security Plans and Information Security Program Plans. Organizations can use other types ofassessment activities such as vulnerability scanning and system monitoring to maintain the security postureof information systems during the entire life cycle. Security assessment reports document assessment
results in sufficient detail as deemed necessary by organizations, to determine the accuracy andcompleteness of the reports and whether the security controls are implemented correctly, operating as
intended, and producing the desired outcome with respect to meeting security requirements. The FISMA
requirement for assessing security controls at least annually does not require additional assessment
activities to those activities already in place in organizational security authorization processes. Security
assessment results are provided to the individuals or roles appropriate for the types of assessments being
conducted. For example, assessments conducted in support of security authorization decisions are provided
to authorizing officials or authorizing official designated representatives.
To satisfy annual assessment requirements, organizations can use assessment results from the following
sources: (i) initial or ongoing information system authorizations; (ii) continuous monitoring; or (iii) systemdevelopment life cycle activities. Organizations ensure that security assessment results are current, relevantto the determination of security control effectiveness, and obtained with the appropriate level of assessor
independence. Existing security control assessment results can be reused to the extent that the results arestill valid and can also be supplemented with additional assessments as needed. Subsequent to initialauthorizations and in accordance with OMB policy, organizations assess security controls duringcontinuous monitoring. Organizations establish the frequency for ongoing security control assessments inaccordance with organizational continuous monitoring strategies. Information Assurance Vulnerability
Alerts provide useful examples of vulnerability mitigation procedures. External audits (e.g., audits byexternal entities such as regulatory agencies) are outside the scope of this control. Related controls: CA-5,
CA-6, CA-7, PM-9, RA-5, SA-11, SA-12, SI-4.
Control Enhancements:
CA-2 (2)

SECURITY ASSESSMENTS | SPECIALIZED ASSESSMENTS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization includes as part of security control assessments, [Assignment: organizationdefined frequency], [Selection: announced; unannounced], [Selection (one or more): in-depth
monitoring; vulnerability scanning; malicious user testing; insider threat assessment;
performance/load testing; [Assignment: organization-defined other forms of security assessment]].
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations can employ information system monitoring, insider threat
assessments, malicious user testing, and other forms of testing (e.g., verification and validation) to
improve readiness by exercising organizational capabilities and indicating current performance levels
as a means of focusing actions to improve security. Organizations conduct assessment activities inaccordance with applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations, andstandards. Authorizing officials approve the assessment methods in coordination with theorganizational risk executive function. Organizations can incorporate vulnerabilities uncovered duringassessments into vulnerability remediation processes. Related controls: PE-3, SI-2.
CA-2 (3)

SECURITY ASSESSMENTS | EXTERNAL ORGANIZATIONS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization accepts the results of an assessment of [Assignment: organization-defined
information system] performed by [Assignment: organization-defined external organization] when
the assessment meets [Assignment: organization-defined requirements].

APPENDIX B

PAGE B-20

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations may often rely on assessments of specific information systems byother (external) organizations. Utilizing such existing assessments (i.e., reusing existing assessment
evidence) can significantly decrease the time and resources required for organizational assessments bylimiting the amount of independent assessment activities that organizations need to perform. The
factors that organizations may consider in determining whether to accept assessment results fromexternal organizations can vary. Determinations for accepting assessment results can be based on, forexample, past assessment experiences one organization has had with another organization, thereputation that organizations have with regard to assessments, the level of detail of supporting
assessment documentation provided, or mandates imposed upon organizations by federal legislation,
policies, or directives.
References: Executive Order 13587; FIPS Publication 199; NIST Special Publications 800-37, 800-39, 800-

53A, 800-115, 800-137.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P2

CA-3

LOW CA-2

MOD CA-2 (1)HIGH CA-2 (1) (2)

SYSTEM INTERCONNECTIONS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Authorizes connections from the information system to other information systems through theuse of Interconnection Security Agreements;b.

Documents, for each interconnection, the interface characteristics, security requirements, andthe nature of the information communicated; andc.

Reviews and updates Interconnection Security Agreements [Assignment: organization-defined
frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: This control applies to dedicated connections between information systems (i.e.,system interconnections) and does not apply to transitory, user-controlled connections such as email andwebsite browsing. Organizations carefully consider the risks that may be introduced when information
systems are connected to other systems with different security requirements and security controls, bothwithin organizations and external to organizations. Authorizing officials determine the risk associated withinformation system connections and the appropriate controls employed. If interconnecting systems have thesame authorizing official, organizations do not need to develop Interconnection Security Agreements.
Instead, organizations can describe the interface characteristics between those interconnecting systems intheir respective security plans. If interconnecting systems have different authorizing officials within thesame organization, organizations can either develop Interconnection Security Agreements or describe theinterface characteristics between systems in the security plans for the respective systems. Organizations
may also incorporate Interconnection Security Agreement information into formal contracts, especially forinterconnections established between federal agencies and nonfederal (i.e., private sector) organizations.
Risk considerations also include information systems sharing the same networks. For certain technologies(e.g., space, unmanned aerial vehicles, and medical devices), there may be specialized connections in place
during preoperational testing. Such connections may require Interconnection Security Agreements and be
subject to additional security controls. Related controls: AC-3, AC-4, AC-20, AU-2, AU-12, AU-16, CA-7,
IA-3, SA-9, SC-7, SI-4.
CA-3 (3)SYSTEM INTERCONNECTIONS | UNCLASSIFIED NON-NATIONAL SECURITY
SYSTEM CONNECTIONS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization prohibits the direct connection of an [Assignment: organization-defined
unclassified, non-national security system] to an external network without the use of [Assignment;
organization-defined boundary protection device].

APPENDIX B

PAGE B-21

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations typically do not have control over external networks (e.g., theInternet). Approved boundary protection devices (e.g., routers, firewalls) mediate communications(i.e., information flows) between unclassified non-national security systems and external networks.
This control enhancement is required for organizations processing, storing, or transmitting Controlled
Unclassified Information (CUI).
CA-3 (4)SYSTEM INTERCONNECTIONS | CONNECTIONS TO PUBLIC NETWORKS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization prohibits the direct connection of an [Assignment: organization-defined
information system] to a public network.
Supplemental Guidance: A public network is any network accessible to the general public including, forexample, the Internet and organizational extranets with public access.
CA-3 (5)SYSTEM INTERCONNECTIONS | RESTRICTIONS ON EXTERNAL SYSTEMCONNECTIONS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization employs [Selection: allow-all, deny-by-exception; deny-all, permit-by-exception]
policy for allowing [Assignment: organization-defined information systems] to connect to external
information systems.
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations can constrain information system connectivity to external
domains (e.g., websites) by employing one of two policies with regard to such connectivity: (i) allowall, deny by exception, also known as blacklisting (the weaker of the two policies); or (ii) deny-all,allow by exception, also known as whitelisting (the stronger of the two policies). For either policy,organizations determine what exceptions, if any, are acceptable. Related control: CM-7.
References: FIPS Publication 199; NIST Special Publication 800-47.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

CA-5

LOW CA-3

MOD CA-3 (5)PLAN OF ACTION AND MILESTONESHIGH CA-3 (5)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Develops a plan of action and milestones for the information system to document the organization’splanned remedial actions to correct weaknesses or deficiencies noted during the assessment of the
security controls and to reduce or eliminate known vulnerabilities in the system; andb.

Updates existing plan of action and milestones [Assignment: organization-defined frequency] based on
the findings from security controls assessments, security impact analyses, and continuous monitoring
activities.

Supplemental Guidance: Plans of action and milestones are key documents in security authorization packages

and are subject to federal reporting requirements established by OMB. Related controls: CA-2, CA-7, CM4, PM-4.
References: OMB Memorandum 02-01; NIST Special Publication 800-37.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P3

APPENDIX B

LOW CA-5

MOD CA-5

HIGH CA-5

PAGE B-22

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________CA-6

SECURITY AUTHORIZATION[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Assigns a senior-level executive or manager as the authorizing official for the information system;b.

Ensures that the authorizing official authorizes the information system for processing before
commencing operations; andc.

Updates the security authorization [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: Security authorizations are official management decisions, conveyed throughauthorization decision documents, by senior organizational officials or executives (i.e., authorizing
officials) to authorize operation of information systems and to explicitly accept the risk to organizational
operations and assets, individuals, other organizations, and the Nation based on the implementation ofagreed-upon security controls. Authorizing officials provide budgetary oversight for organizational
information systems or assume responsibility for the mission/business operations supported by thosesystems. The security authorization process is an inherently federal responsibility and therefore, authorizing
officials must be federal employees. Through the security authorization process, authorizing officials
assume responsibility and are accountable for security risks associated with the operation and use oforganizational information systems. Accordingly, authorizing officials are in positions with levels of
authority commensurate with understanding and accepting such information security-related risks. OMB
policy requires that organizations conduct ongoing authorizations of information systems by implementing
continuous monitoring programs. Continuous monitoring programs can satisfy three-year reauthorization
requirements, so separate reauthorization processes are not necessary. Through the employment ofcomprehensive continuous monitoring processes, critical information contained in authorization packages(i.e., security plans, security assessment reports, and plans of action and milestones) is updated on an
ongoing basis, providing authorizing officials and information system owners with an up-to-date status of
the security state of organizational information systems and environments of operation. To reduce theadministrative cost of security reauthorization, authorizing officials use the results of continuous
monitoring processes to the maximum extent possible as the basis for rendering reauthorization decisions.
Related controls: CA-2, CA-7, PM-9, PM-10.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: OMB Circular A-130; OMB Memorandum 11-33; NIST Special Publications 800-37, 800-137.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P2

CA-7

LOW CA-6

CONTINUOUS MONITORING

MOD CA-6

HIGH CA-6[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control:

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
APPENDIX B

The organization develops a continuous monitoring strategy and implements a continuous
monitoring program that includes:
Establishment of [Assignment: organization-defined metrics] to be monitored;
Establishment of [Assignment: organization-defined frequencies] for monitoring and[Assignment: organization-defined frequencies] for assessments supporting such monitoring;
Ongoing security control assessments in accordance with the organizational continuous
monitoring strategy;
Ongoing security status monitoring of organization-defined metrics in accordance with theorganizational continuous monitoring strategy;
Correlation and analysis of security-related information generated by assessments and monitoring;
PAGE B-23

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

g.
h.

Response actions to address results of the analysis of security-related information; andReporting the security status of organization and the information system to [Assignment:
organization-defined personnel or roles] [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: Continuous monitoring programs facilitate ongoing awareness of threats,vulnerabilities, and information security to support organizational risk management decisions. The terms
continuous and ongoing imply that organizations assess/analyze security controls and information securityrelated risks at a frequency sufficient to support organizational risk-based decisions. The results ofcontinuous monitoring programs generate appropriate risk response actions by organizations. Continuous
monitoring programs also allow organizations to maintain the security authorizations of information
systems and common controls over time in highly dynamic environments of operation with changing
mission/business needs, threats, vulnerabilities, and technologies. Having access to security-related
information on a continuing basis through reports/dashboards gives organizational officials the capability tomake more effective and timely risk management decisions, including ongoing security authorization
decisions. Automation supports more frequent updates to security authorization packages,
hardware/software/firmware inventories, and other system information. Effectiveness is further enhanced
when continuous monitoring outputs are formatted to provide information that is specific, measurable,
actionable, relevant, and timely. Continuous monitoring activities are scaled in accordance with the security
categories of information systems. Related controls: CA-2, CA-5, CA-6, CM-3, CM-4, PM-6, PM-9, RA-5,
SA-11, SA-12, SI-2, SI-4.
CA-7 (3)

CONTINUOUS MONITORING | TREND ANALYSES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization employs trend analyses to determine if security control implementations, thefrequency of continuous monitoring activities, and/or the types of activities used in thecontinuous monitoring process need to be modified based on empirical data.
Supplemental Guidance: Trend analyses can include, for example, examining recent threat information
regarding the types of threat events that have occurred within the organization or across the federal
government, success rates of certain types of cyber attacks, emerging vulnerabilities in information
technologies, evolving social engineering techniques, results from multiple security control
assessments, the effectiveness of configuration settings, and findings from Inspectors General orauditors.
References: OMB Memorandum 11-33; NIST Special Publications 800-37, 800-39, 800-53A, 800-115, 800-137; USCERT Technical Cyber Security Alerts; DoD Information Assurance Vulnerability Alerts.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P2

APPENDIX B

LOW CA-7

MOD CA-7 (1)HIGH CA-7 (1)PAGE B-24

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT
CM-1

CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops, documents, and disseminates to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]:1.

A configuration management policy that addresses purpose, scope, roles, responsibilities,
management commitment, coordination among organizational entities, and compliance; and2.

Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the configuration management policy and associatedconfiguration management controls; andReviews and updates the current:
1.

Configuration management policy [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; and2.

Configuration management procedures [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the establishment of policy and procedures for the effective

implementation of selected security controls and control enhancements in the CM family. Policy andprocedures reflect applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards,
and guidance. Security program policies and procedures at the organization level may make the need forsystem-specific policies and procedures unnecessary. The policy can be included as part of the general
information security policy for organizations or conversely, can be represented by multiple policies
reflecting the complex nature of certain organizations. The procedures can be established for the security
program in general and for particular information systems, if needed. The organizational risk management
strategy is a key factor in establishing policy and procedures. Related control: PM-9.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-12, 800-100.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

CM-2

LOW CM-1

MOD CM-1

BASELINE CONFIGURATIONHIGH CM-1[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization develops, documents, and maintains under configuration control, a current

baseline configuration of the information system.
Supplemental Guidance: This control establishes baseline configurations for information systems and systemcomponents including communications and connectivity-related aspects of systems. Baseline
configurations are documented, formally reviewed and agreed-upon sets of specifications for information
systems or configuration items within those systems. Baseline configurations serve as a basis for futurebuilds, releases, and/or changes to information systems. Baseline configurations include information about
information system components (e.g., standard software packages installed on workstations, notebook
computers, servers, network components, or mobile devices; current version numbers and patch
information on operating systems and applications; and configuration settings/parameters), network
topology, and the logical placement of those components within the system architecture. Maintaining
baseline configurations requires creating new baselines as organizational information systems change overtime. Baseline configurations of information systems reflect the current enterprise architecture. Related
controls: CM-3, CM-6, CM-8, CM-9, SA-10, PM-5, PM-7.
Control Enhancements:
CM-2 (1)APPENDIX B

BASELINE CONFIGURATION | REVIEWS AND UPDATES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]PAGE B-25

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________The organization reviews and updates the baseline configuration of the information system:(a)[Assignment: organization-defined frequency];(b)

When required due to [Assignment organization-defined circumstances]; and(c)

As an integral part of information system component installations and upgrades.

Supplemental Guidance: Related control: CM-5.
CM-2 (6)

BASELINE CONFIGURATION | DEVELOPMENT AND TEST ENVIRONMENTS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization maintains a baseline configuration for information system development andtest environments that is managed separately from the operational baseline configuration.
Supplemental Guidance: Establishing separate baseline configurations for development, testing, andoperational environments helps protect information systems from unplanned/unexpected events related
to development and testing activities. Separate baseline configurations allow organizations to apply theconfiguration management that is most appropriate for each type of configuration. For example,
management of operational configurations typically emphasizes the need for stability, while
management of development/test configurations requires greater flexibility. Configurations in the test
environment mirror the configurations in the operational environment to the extent practicable so thatthe results of the testing are representative of the proposed changes to the operational systems. This
control enhancement requires separate configurations but not necessarily separate physicalenvironments. Related controls: CM-4, SC-3, SC-7.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-128.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

CM-3

LOW CM-2

CONFIGURATION CHANGE CONTROLMOD CM-2 (1) (3) (7)

HIGH CM-2 (1) (2) (3) (7)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Determines the types of changes to the information system that are configuration-controlled;b.

Reviews proposed configuration-controlled changes to the information system and approves ordisapproves such changes with explicit consideration for security impact analyses;c.

Documents configuration change decisions associated with the information system;d.

Implements approved configuration-controlled changes to the information system;e.

Retains records of configuration-controlled changes to the information system for [Assignment:
organization-defined time period];f.

Audits and reviews activities associated with configuration-controlled changes to the information
system; andg.

Coordinates and provides oversight for configuration change control activities through [Assignment:
organization-defined configuration change control element (e.g., committee, board] that convenes[Selection (one or more): [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; [Assignment: organizationdefined configuration change conditions]].

Supplemental Guidance: Configuration change controls for organizational information systems involve thesystematic proposal, justification, implementation, testing, review, and disposition of changes to thesystems, including system upgrades and modifications. Configuration change control includes changes tobaseline configurations for components and configuration items of information systems, changes toconfiguration settings for information technology products (e.g., operating systems, applications, firewalls,routers, and mobile devices), unscheduled/unauthorized changes, and changes to remediate vulnerabilities.
APPENDIX B

PAGE B-26

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Typical processes for managing configuration changes to information systems include, for example,
Configuration Control Boards that approve proposed changes to systems. For new development
information systems or systems undergoing major upgrades, organizations consider including
representatives from development organizations on the Configuration Control Boards. Auditing of changes
includes activities before and after changes are made to organizational information systems and theauditing activities required to implement such changes. Related controls: CM-2, CM-4, CM-5, CM-6, CM9, SA-10, SI-2, SI-12.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-128.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

CM-4

LOW Not Selected

MOD CM-3 (2)SECURITY IMPACT ANALYSISHIGH CM-3 (1) (2)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization analyzes changes to the information system to determine potential security

impacts prior to change implementation.
Supplemental Guidance: Organizational personnel with information security responsibilities (e.g., Information

System Administrators, Information System Security Officers, Information System Security Managers, andInformation System Security Engineers) conduct security impact analyses. Individuals conducting security
impact analyses possess the necessary skills/technical expertise to analyze the changes to information
systems and the associated security ramifications. Security impact analysis may include, for example,
reviewing security plans to understand security control requirements and reviewing system design
documentation to understand control implementation and how specific changes might affect the controls.
Security impact analyses may also include assessments of risk to better understand the impact of thechanges and to determine if additional security controls are required. Security impact analyses are scaled inaccordance with the security categories of the information systems. Related controls: CA-2, CA-7, CM-3,
CM-9, SA-4, SA-5, SA-10, SI-2.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-128.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P2

CM-5

LOW CM-4

MOD CM-4

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS FOR CHANGE

HIGH CM-4 (1)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization defines, documents, approves, and enforces physical and logical access

restrictions associated with changes to the information system.
Supplemental Guidance: Any changes to the hardware, software, and/or firmware components of information

systems can potentially have significant effects on the overall security of the systems. Therefore,
organizations permit only qualified and authorized individuals to access information systems for purposesof initiating changes, including upgrades and modifications. Organizations maintain records of access toensure that configuration change control is implemented and to support after-the-fact actions shouldorganizations discover any unauthorized changes. Access restrictions for change also include software
libraries. Access restrictions include, for example, physical and logical access controls (see AC-3 and PE3), workflow automation, media libraries, abstract layers (e.g., changes implemented into third-party
interfaces rather than directly into information systems), and change windows (e.g., changes occur only
during specified times, making unauthorized changes easy to discover). Related controls: AC-3, AC-6, PE3.
CM-5 (1)APPENDIX BACCESS RESTRICTIONS FOR CHANGE | AUTOMATED ACCESS ENFORCEMENT /AUDITING[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]PAGE B-27

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________The information system enforces access restrictions and supports auditing of the enforcement actions.
Supplemental Guidance: Related controls: AU-2, AU-12, AU-6, CM-3, CM-6.
CM-5 (2)ACCESS RESTRICTIONS FOR CHANGE | REVIEW SYSTEM CHANGES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization reviews information system changes [Assignment: organization-defined
frequency] and [Assignment: organization-defined circumstances] to determine whether
unauthorized changes have occurred.
Supplemental Guidance: Indications that warrant review of information system changes and the specificcircumstances justifying such reviews may be obtained from activities carried out by organizations
during the configuration change process. Related controls: AU-6, AU-7, CM-3, CM-5, PE-6, PE-8.
CM-5 (3)ACCESS RESTRICTIONS FOR CHANGE | SIGNED COMPONENTS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The information system prevents the installation of [Assignment: organization-defined softwareand firmware components] without verification that the component has been digitally signed
using a certificate that is recognized and approved by the organization.
Supplemental Guidance: Software and firmware components prevented from installation unless signedwith recognized and approved certificates include, for example, software and firmware version
updates, patches, service packs, device drivers, and basic input output system (BIOS) updates.
Organizations can identify applicable software and firmware components by type, by specific items, ora combination of both. Digital signatures and organizational verification of such signatures, is amethod of code authentication. Related controls: CM-7, SC-13, SI-7.
CM-5 (6)ACCESS RESTRICTIONS FOR CHANGE | LIMIT LIBRARY PRIVILEGES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization limits privileges to change software resident within software libraries.
Supplemental Guidance: Software libraries include privileged programs. Related control: AC-2.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

CM-6

LOW Not Selected

MOD CM-5

CONFIGURATION SETTINGSHIGH CM-5 (1) (2) (3)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Establishes and documents configuration settings for information technology products employedwithin the information system using [Assignment: organization-defined security configuration
checklists] that reflect the most restrictive mode consistent with operational requirements;b.

Implements the configuration settings;c.

Identifies, documents, and approves any deviations from established configuration settings for[Assignment: organization-defined information system components] based on [Assignment:
organization-defined operational requirements]; andd.

Monitors and controls changes to the configuration settings in accordance with organizational policies
and procedures.

Supplemental Guidance: Configuration settings are the set of parameters that can be changed in hardware,

software, or firmware components of the information system that affect the security posture and/or
functionality of the system. Information technology products for which security-related configuration
settings can be defined include, for example, mainframe computers, servers (e.g., database, electronic mail,authentication, web, proxy, file, domain name), workstations, input/output devices (e.g., scanners, copiers,
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________and printers), network components (e.g., firewalls, routers, gateways, voice and data switches, wirelessaccess points, network appliances, sensors), operating systems, middleware, and applications. Securityrelated parameters are those parameters impacting the security state of information systems including theparameters required to satisfy other security control requirements. Security-related parameters include, forexample: (i) registry settings; (ii) account, file, directory permission settings; and (iii) settings for functions,ports, protocols, services, and remote connections. Organizations establish organization-wide configuration
settings and subsequently derive specific settings for information systems. The established settings become
part of the systems configuration baseline.
Common secure configurations (also referred to as security configuration checklists, lockdown andhardening guides, security reference guides, security technical implementation guides) provide recognized,
standardized, and established benchmarks that stipulate secure configuration settings for specificinformation technology platforms/products and instructions for configuring those information systemcomponents to meet operational requirements. Common secure configurations can be developed by avariety of organizations including, for example, information technology product developers, manufacturers,
vendors, consortia, academia, industry, federal agencies, and other organizations in the public and private
sectors. Common secure configurations include the United States Government Configuration Baseline(USGCB) which affects the implementation of CM-6 and other controls such as AC-19 and CM-7. The
Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP) and the defined standards within the protocol (e.g.,Common Configuration Enumeration) provide an effective method to uniquely identify, track, and control
configuration settings. OMB establishes federal policy on configuration requirements for federal
information systems. Related controls: AC-19, CM-2, CM-3, CM-7, SI-4.
CM-6 (1)

CONFIGURATION SETTINGS | AUTOMATED CENTRAL MANAGEMENT /APPLICATION / VERIFICATION[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization employs automated mechanisms to centrally manage, apply, and verify
configuration settings for [Assignment: organization-defined information system components].
Supplemental Guidance: Related controls: CA-7, CM-4.
CM-6 (2)CONFIGURATION SETTINGS | RESPOND TO UNAUTHORIZED CHANGES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization employs [Assignment: organization-defined security safeguards] to respond tounauthorized changes to [Assignment: organization-defined configuration settings].
Supplemental Guidance: Responses to unauthorized changes to configuration settings can include, forexample, alerting designated organizational personnel, restoring established configuration settings, orin extreme cases, halting affected information system processing. Related controls: IR-4, SI-7.
References: OMB Memoranda 07-11, 07-18, 08-22; NIST Special Publications 800-70, 800-128; Web: nvd.nist.gov,
checklists.nist.gov, www.nsa.gov.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

CM-7

LOW CM-6

LEAST FUNCTIONALITY

MOD CM-6

HIGH CM-6 (1) (2)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Configures the information system to provide only essential capabilities; andb.

Prohibits or restricts the use of the following functions, ports, protocols, and/or services: [Assignment:
organization-defined prohibited or restricted functions, ports, protocols, and/or services].

Supplemental Guidance: Information systems can provide a wide variety of functions and services. Some of

the functions and services, provided by default, may not be necessary to support essential organizational
operations (e.g., key missions, functions). Additionally, it is sometimes convenient to provide multiple
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

services from single information system components, but doing so increases risk over limiting the services
provided by any one component. Where feasible, organizations limit component functionality to a single
function per device (e.g., email servers or web servers, but not both). Organizations review functions andservices provided by information systems or individual components of information systems, to determine
which functions and services are candidates for elimination (e.g., Voice Over Internet Protocol, InstantMessaging, auto-execute, and file sharing). Organizations consider disabling unused or unnecessary
physical and logical ports/protocols (e.g., Universal Serial Bus, File Transfer Protocol, and Hyper Text
Transfer Protocol) on information systems to prevent unauthorized connection of devices, unauthorizedtransfer of information, or unauthorized tunneling. Organizations can utilize network scanning tools,
intrusion detection and prevention systems, and end-point protections such as firewalls and host-based
intrusion detection systems to identify and prevent the use of prohibited functions, ports, protocols, andservices. Related controls: AC-6, CM-2, RA-5, SA-5, SC-7.
Control Enhancements:
CM-7 (4)

LEAST FUNCTIONALITY | UNAUTHORIZED SOFTWARE / BLACKLISTING[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization:(a)Identifies [Assignment: organization-defined software programs not authorized to execute on
the information system];(b)

Employs an allow-all, deny-by-exception policy to prohibit the execution of unauthorizedsoftware programs on the information system; and(c)Reviews and updates the list of unauthorized software programs [Assignment: organizationdefined frequency].
Supplemental Guidance: The process used to identify software programs that are not authorized to
execute on organizational information systems is commonly referred to as blacklisting. Organizations
can implement CM-7 (5) instead of this control enhancement if whitelisting (the stronger of the twopolicies) is the preferred approach for restricting software program execution. Related controls: CM-6,
CM-8, PM-5.
CM-7 (5)LEAST FUNCTIONALITY | AUTHORIZED SOFTWARE / WHITELISTING[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization:(a)Identifies [Assignment: organization-defined software programs authorized to execute on theinformation system];(b)

Employs a deny-all, permit-by-exception policy to allow the execution of authorized software
programs on the information system; and(c)Reviews and updates the list of authorized software programs [Assignment: organizationdefined frequency].
Supplemental Guidance: The process used to identify software programs that are authorized to execute onorganizational information systems is commonly referred to as whitelisting. In addition to whitelisting,organizations consider verifying the integrity of white-listed software programs using, for example,
cryptographic checksums, digital signatures, or hash functions. Verification of white-listed software
can occur either prior to execution or at system startup. Related controls: CM-2, CM-6, CM-8, PM-5,
SA-10, SC-34, SI-7.
References: DoD Instruction 8551.01.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

APPENDIX B

LOW CM-7

MOD CM-7 (1) (2) (4)

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Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________CM-8

INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops and documents an inventory of information system components that:1.

Accurately reflects the current information system;

2.

Includes all components within the authorization boundary of the information system;3.

Is at the level of granularity deemed necessary for tracking and reporting; and4.

Includes [Assignment: organization-defined information deemed necessary to achieve effective
information system component accountability]; andReviews and updates the information system component inventory [Assignment: organization-defined
frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: Organizations may choose to implement centralized information system component

inventories that include components from all organizational information systems. In such situations,organizations ensure that the resulting inventories include system-specific information required for propercomponent accountability (e.g., information system association, information system owner). Information
deemed necessary for effective accountability of information system components includes, for example,
hardware inventory specifications, software license information, software version numbers, component
owners, and for networked components or devices, machine names and network addresses. Inventory
specifications include, for example, manufacturer, device type, model, serial number, and physical location.
Related controls: CM-2, CM-6, PM-5.
CM-8 (1)

INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY | UPDATES DURING
INSTALLATIONS / REMOVALS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization updates the inventory of information system components as an integral part ofcomponent installations, removals, and information system updates.
CM-8 (2)

INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY | AUTOMATED
MAINTENANCE[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization employs automated mechanisms to help maintain an up-to-date, complete,accurate, and readily available inventory of information system components.
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations maintain information system inventories to the extent feasible.
Virtual machines, for example, can be difficult to monitor because such machines are not visible to the
network when not in use. In such cases, organizations maintain as up-to-date, complete, and accurate
an inventory as is deemed reasonable. This control enhancement can be satisfied by the
implementation of CM-2 (2) for organizations that choose to combine information system component
inventory and baseline configuration activities. Related control: SI-7.
CM-8 (4)

INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY | ACCOUNTABILITY
INFORMATION[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization includes in the information system component inventory information, a means
for identifying by [Selection (one or more): name; position; role], individuals
responsible/accountable for administering those components.
Supplemental Guidance: Identifying individuals who are both responsible and accountable foradministering information system components helps to ensure that the assigned components areproperly administered and organizations can contact those individuals if some action is required (e.g.,
component is determined to be the source of a breach/compromise, component needs to berecalled/replaced, or component needs to be relocated).
CM-8 (6)APPENDIX B

INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY | ASSESSEDCONFIGURATIONS / APPROVED DEVIATIONS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]PAGE B-31

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________The organization includes assessed component configurations and any approved deviations tocurrent deployed configurations in the information system component inventory.
Supplemental Guidance: This control enhancement focuses on configuration settings established byorganizations for information system components, the specific components that have been assessed todetermine compliance with the required configuration settings, and any approved deviations fromestablished configuration settings. Related controls: CM-2, CM-6.
CM-8 (7)INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY | CENTRALIZED REPOSITORY[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization provides a centralized repository for the inventory of information systemcomponents.
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations may choose to implement centralized information systemcomponent inventories that include components from all organizational information systems.
Centralized repositories of information system component inventories provide opportunities for
efficiencies in accounting for organizational hardware, software, and firmware assets. Suchrepositories may also help organizations rapidly identify the location and responsible individuals ofsystem components that have been compromised, breached, or are otherwise in need of mitigation
actions. Organizations ensure that the resulting centralized inventories include system-specificinformation required for proper component accountability (e.g., information system association,
information system owner).
CM-8 (8)INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY | AUTOMATED LOCATIONTRACKING[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization employs automated mechanisms to support tracking of information systemcomponents by geographic location.
Supplemental Guidance: The use of automated mechanisms to track the location of information systemcomponents can increase the accuracy of component inventories. Such capability may also helporganizations rapidly identify the location and responsible individuals of system components that havebeen compromised, breached, or are otherwise in need of mitigation actions.
CM-8 (9)INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY | ASSIGNMENT OFCOMPONENTS TO SYSTEMS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization:(a)Assigns [Assignment: organization-defined acquired information system components] to an
information system; and(b)

Receives an acknowledgement from the information system owner of this assignment.
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations determine the criteria for or types of information systemcomponents (e.g., microprocessors, motherboards, software, programmable logic controllers, andnetwork devices) that are subject to this control enhancement. Related control: SA-4.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-128.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

CM-9

LOW CM-8

MOD CM-8 (1) (3) (5)CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT PLAN

HIGH CM-8 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization develops, documents, and implements a configuration management plan for the

information system that:
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

a.

Addresses roles, responsibilities, and configuration management processes and procedures;b.

Establishes a process for identifying configuration items throughout the system development life cycleand for managing the configuration of the configuration items;c.

Defines the configuration items for the information system and places the configuration items underconfiguration management; andd.

Protects the configuration management plan from unauthorized disclosure and modification.

Supplemental Guidance: Configuration management plans satisfy the requirements in configuration

management policies while being tailored to individual information systems. Such plans define detailed
processes and procedures for how configuration management is used to support system development life
cycle activities at the information system level. Configuration management plans are typically developed
during the development/acquisition phase of the system development life cycle. The plans describe how tomove changes through change management processes, how to update configuration settings and baselines,
how to maintain information system component inventories, how to control development, test, andoperational environments, and how to develop, release, and update key documents. Organizations canemploy templates to help ensure consistent and timely development and implementation of configuration
management plans. Such templates can represent a master configuration management plan for theorganization at large with subsets of the plan implemented on a system by system basis. Configuration
management approval processes include designation of key management stakeholders responsible forreviewing and approving proposed changes to information systems, and personnel that conduct security
impact analyses prior to the implementation of changes to the systems. Configuration items are theinformation system items (hardware, software, firmware, and documentation) to be configuration-managed.
As information systems continue through the system development life cycle, new configuration items may
be identified and some existing configuration items may no longer need to be under configuration control.
Related controls: CM-2, CM-3, CM-4, CM-5, CM-8, SA-10.
CM-9 (1)

CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT PLAN | ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization assigns responsibility for developing the configuration management process toorganizational personnel that are not directly involved in information system development.
Supplemental Guidance: In the absence of dedicated configuration management teams assigned withinorganizations, system developers may be tasked to develop configuration management processes using
personnel who are not directly involved in system development or integration. This separation ofduties ensures that organizations establish and maintain a sufficient degree of independence between
the information system development and integration processes and configuration management
processes to facilitate quality control and more effective oversight.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-128.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

CM-10

LOW Not Selected

SOFTWARE USAGE RESTRICTIONSMOD CM-9

HIGH CM-9[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Uses software and associated documentation in accordance with contract agreements and copyright
laws;

b.

Tracks the use of software and associated documentation protected by quantity licenses to control
copying and distribution; andc.

Controls and documents the use of peer-to-peer file sharing technology to ensure that this capability is
not used for the unauthorized distribution, display, performance, or reproduction of copyrighted work.

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Supplemental Guidance: Software license tracking can be accomplished by manual methods (e.g., simple

spreadsheets) or automated methods (e.g., specialized tracking applications) depending on organizational
needs. Related controls: AC-17, CM-8, SC-7.
Control Enhancements:
CM-10 (1)SOFTWARE USAGE RESTRICTIONS | OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization establishes the following restrictions on the use of open source software:[Assignment: organization-defined restrictions].
Supplemental Guidance: Open source software refers to software that is available in both source and binary
code form. Certain software rights normally reserved for copyright holders are routinely provided undersoftware license agreements that permit individuals to study, change, and improve the software. From asecurity perspective, the major advantage of open source software is that in many cases it provides
organizations with the ability to examine the source code. However, there are also various licensing issues
associated with open source software including, for example, the constraints on derivative use of such
software.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P2

CM-11

LOW CM-10

MOD CM-10

USER-INSTALLED SOFTWAREHIGH CM-10[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:

a.
b.
c.

Establishes [Assignment: organization-defined policies] governing the installation of software byusers;
Enforces software installation policies through [Assignment: organization-defined methods]; andMonitors policy compliance at [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: If provided the necessary privileges, users have the ability to install software inorganizational information systems. To maintain control over the types of software installed, organizations
identify permitted and prohibited actions regarding software installation. Permitted software installations
may include, for example, updates and security patches to existing software and downloading applications
from organization-approved “app stores.” Prohibited software installations may include, for example,
software with unknown or suspect pedigrees or software that organizations consider potentially malicious.
The policies organizations select governing user-installed software may be organization-developed orprovided by some external entity. Policy enforcement methods include procedural methods (e.g., periodic
examination of user accounts), automated methods (e.g., configuration settings implemented onorganizational information systems), or both. Related controls: AC-3, CM-2, CM-3, CM-5, CM-6, CM-7,
PL-4.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

APPENDIX B

LOW CM-11

MOD CM-11

HIGH CM-11

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: CONTINGENCY PLANNING
CP-1

CONTINGENCY PLANNING POLICY AND PROCEDURES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops, documents, and disseminates to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]:1.

A contingency planning policy that addresses purpose, scope, roles, responsibilities, management
commitment, coordination among organizational entities, and compliance; and2.

Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the contingency planning policy and associatedcontingency planning controls; andReviews and updates the current:
1.

Contingency planning policy [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; and2.

Contingency planning procedures [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the establishment of policy and procedures for the effective

implementation of selected security controls and control enhancements in the CP family. Policy andprocedures reflect applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards,
and guidance. Security program policies and procedures at the organization level may make the need forsystem-specific policies and procedures unnecessary. The policy can be included as part of the general
information security policy for organizations or conversely, can be represented by multiple policies
reflecting the complex nature of certain organizations. The procedures can be established for the security
program in general and for particular information systems, if needed. The organizational risk management
strategy is a key factor in establishing policy and procedures. Related control: PM-9.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: Federal Continuity Directive 1; NIST Special Publications 800-12, 800-34, 800-100.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

CP-2

LOW CP-1

MOD CP-1

CONTINGENCY PLAN

HIGH CP-1[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Develops a contingency plan for the information system that:1.

Identifies essential missions and business functions and associated contingency requirements;

2.

Provides recovery objectives, restoration priorities, and metrics;

3.

Addresses contingency roles, responsibilities, assigned individuals with contact information;

4.

Addresses maintaining essential missions and business functions despite an information system
disruption, compromise, or failure;5.

Addresses eventual, full information system restoration without deterioration of the security
safeguards originally planned and implemented; and6.

Is reviewed and approved by [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles];b.

Distributes copies of the contingency plan to [Assignment: organization-defined key contingency
personnel (identified by name and/or by role) and organizational elements];c.

Coordinates contingency planning activities with incident handling activities;

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________d.

Reviews the contingency plan for the information system [Assignment: organization-defined
frequency];e.

Updates the contingency plan to address changes to the organization, information system, or
environment of operation and problems encountered during contingency plan implementation,
execution, or testing;f.

Communicates contingency plan changes to [Assignment: organization-defined key contingency
personnel (identified by name and/or by role) and organizational elements]; andg.

Protects the contingency plan from unauthorized disclosure and modification.

Supplemental Guidance: Contingency planning for information systems is part of an overall organizational

program for achieving continuity of operations for mission/business functions. Contingency planning
addresses both information system restoration and implementation of alternative mission/businessprocesses when systems are compromised. The effectiveness of contingency planning is maximized byconsidering such planning throughout the phases of the system development life cycle. Performing
contingency planning on hardware, software, and firmware development can be an effective means ofachieving information system resiliency. Contingency plans reflect the degree of restoration required fororganizational information systems since not all systems may need to fully recover to achieve the level ofcontinuity of operations desired. Information system recovery objectives reflect applicable laws, Executive
Orders, directives, policies, standards, regulations, and guidelines. In addition to information system
availability, contingency plans also address other security-related events resulting in a reduction in mission
and/or business effectiveness, such as malicious attacks compromising the confidentiality or integrity of
information systems. Actions addressed in contingency plans include, for example, orderly/gracefuldegradation, information system shutdown, fallback to a manual mode, alternate information flows, andoperating in modes reserved for when systems are under attack. By closely coordinating contingency
planning with incident handling activities, organizations can ensure that the necessary contingency
planning activities are in place and activated in the event of a security incident. Related controls: AC-14,
CP-6, CP-7, CP-8, CP-9, CP-10, IR-4, IR-8, MP-2, MP-4, MP-5, PM-8, PM-11.
Control Enhancements:
CP-2 (2)

CONTINGENCY PLAN | CAPACITY PLANNING[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization conducts capacity planning so that necessary capacity for information processing,telecommunications, and environmental support exists during contingency operations.
Supplemental Guidance: Capacity planning is needed because different types of threats (e.g., natural

disasters, targeted cyber attacks) can result in a reduction of the available processing,telecommunications, and support services originally intended to support the organizational
missions/business functions. Organizations may need to anticipate degraded operations duringcontingency operations and factor such degradation into capacity planning.
CP-2 (7)

CONTINGENCY PLAN | COORDINATE WITH EXTERNAL SERVICE PROVIDERS [BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization coordinates its contingency plan with the contingency plans of external service
providers to ensure that contingency requirements can be satisfied.
Supplemental Guidance: When the capability of an organization to successfully carry out its core
missions/business functions is dependent on external service providers, developing a timely andcomprehensive contingency plan may become more challenging. In this situation, organizations
coordinate contingency planning activities with the external entities to ensure that the individual plansreflect the overall contingency needs of the organization. Related control: SA-9.
CP-2 (8)CONTINGENCY PLAN | IDENTIFY CRITICAL ASSETS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization identifies critical information system assets supporting essential missions andbusiness functions.

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations may choose to carry out the contingency planning activities inthis control enhancement as part of organizational business continuity planning including, for example,
as part of business impact analyses. Organizations identify critical information system assets so that
additional safeguards and countermeasures can be employed (above and beyond those safeguards andcountermeasures routinely implemented) to help ensure that organizational missions/business functions
can continue to be conducted during contingency operations. In addition, the identification of criticalinformation assets facilitates the prioritization of organizational resources. Critical information systemassets include technical and operational aspects. Technical aspects include, for example, information
technology services, information system components, information technology products, andmechanisms. Operational aspects include, for example, procedures (manually executed operations) andpersonnel (individuals operating technical safeguards and/or executing manual procedures).
Organizational program protection plans can provide assistance in identifying critical assets. Related
controls: SA-14, SA-15.
References: Federal Continuity Directive 1; NIST Special Publication 800-34.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

CP-6

LOW CP-2

MOD CP-2 (1) (3) (8)ALTERNATE STORAGE SITE

HIGH CP-2 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (8)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Establishes an alternate storage site including necessary agreements to permit the storage and retrievalof information system backup information; andb.

Ensures that the alternate storage site provides information security safeguards equivalent to that of the
primary site.

Supplemental Guidance: Alternate storage sites are sites that are geographically distinct from primary storagesites. An alternate storage site maintains duplicate copies of information and data in the event that the
primary storage site is not available. Items covered by alternate storage site agreements include, forexample, environmental conditions at alternate sites, access rules, physical and environmental protection
requirements, and coordination of delivery/retrieval of backup media. Alternate storage sites reflect therequirements in contingency plans so that organizations can maintain essential missions/business functions
despite disruption, compromise, or failure in organizational information systems. Related controls: CP-2,
CP-7, CP-9, CP-10, MP-4.
CP-6 (1)

ALTERNATE STORAGE SITE | SEPARATION FROM PRIMARY SITE

[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization identifies an alternate storage site that is separated from the primary storage site to reduce
susceptibility to the same threats.
Supplemental Guidance: Threats that affect alternate storage sites are typically defined in organizational

assessments of risk and include, for example, natural disasters, structural failures, hostile cyber attacks,and errors of omission/commission. Organizations determine what is considered a sufficient degree ofseparation between primary and alternate storage sites based on the types of threats that are of concern.
For one particular type of threat (i.e., hostile cyber attack), the degree of separation between sites isless relevant. Related control: RA-3.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-34.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

APPENDIX B

LOW Not Selected

MOD CP-6 (1) (3)

HIGH CP-6 (1) (2) (3)

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CP-7

ALTERNATE PROCESSING SITE

[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Establishes an alternate processing site including necessary agreements to permit the transfer andresumption of [Assignment: organization-defined information system operations] for essential
missions/business functions within [Assignment: organization-defined time period consistent withrecovery time and recovery point objectives] when the primary processing capabilities are unavailable;b.

Ensures that equipment and supplies required to transfer and resume operations are available at thealternate processing site or contracts are in place to support delivery to the site within the organizationdefined time period for transfer/resumption; andc.

Ensures that the alternate processing site provides information security safeguards equivalent to that ofthe primary site.

Supplemental Guidance: Alternate processing sites are sites that are geographically distinct from primaryprocessing sites. An alternate processing site provides processing capability in the event that the primaryprocessing site is not available. Items covered by alternate processing site agreements include, for example,
environmental conditions at alternate sites, access rules, physical and environmental protection
requirements, and coordination for the transfer/assignment of personnel. Requirements are specificallyallocated to alternate processing sites that reflect the requirements in contingency plans to maintainessential missions/business functions despite disruption, compromise, or failure in organizational
information systems. Related controls: CP-2, CP-6, CP-8, CP-9, CP-10, MA-6.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-34.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

CP-8

LOW Not Selected

TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES

MOD CP-7 (1) (2) (3)

HIGH CP-7 (1) (2) (3) (4)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization establishes alternate telecommunications services including necessary agreements

to permit the resumption of [Assignment: organization-defined information system operations] for essential
missions and business functions within [Assignment: organization-defined time period] when the primarytelecommunications capabilities are unavailable at either the primary or alternate processing or storagesites.
Supplemental Guidance: This control applies to telecommunications services (data and voice) for primary andalternate processing and storage sites. Alternate telecommunications services reflect the continuity
requirements in contingency plans to maintain essential missions/business functions despite the loss ofprimary telecommunications services. Organizations may specify different time periods forprimary/alternate sites. Alternate telecommunications services include, for example, additionalorganizational or commercial ground-based circuits/lines or satellites in lieu of ground-based
communications. Organizations consider factors such as availability, quality of service, and access whenentering into alternate telecommunications agreements. Related controls: CP-2, CP-6, CP-7.
CP-8 (3)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES | SEPARATION OF PRIMARY / ALTERNATEPROVIDERS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]
The organization obtains alternate telecommunications services from providers that are separated fromprimary service providers to reduce susceptibility to the same threats.
Supplemental Guidance: Threats that affect telecommunications services are typically defined inorganizational assessments of risk and include, for example, natural disasters, structural failures,
hostile cyber/physical attacks, and errors of omission/commission. Organizations seek to reduce
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

common susceptibilities by, for example, minimizing shared infrastructure among telecommunications
service providers and achieving sufficient geographic separation between services. Organizations may
consider using a single service provider in situations where the service provider can provide alternate
telecommunications services meeting the separation needs addressed in the risk assessment.
CP-8 (4)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES | PROVIDER CONTINGENCY PLAN

[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization:(a)Requires primary and alternate telecommunications service providers to have contingency
plans;(b)

Reviews provider contingency plans to ensure that the plans meet organizational
contingency requirements; andObtains evidence of contingency testing/training by providers [Assignment: organizationdefined frequency].
Supplemental Guidance: Reviews of provider contingency plans consider the proprietary nature of suchplans. In some situations, a summary of provider contingency plans may be sufficient evidence fororganizations to satisfy the review requirement. Telecommunications service providers may also
participate in ongoing disaster recovery exercises in coordination with the Department of Homeland
Security, state, and local governments. Organizations may use these types of activities to satisfy
evidentiary requirements related to service provider contingency plan reviews, testing, and training.
(c)References: NIST Special Publication 800-34; National Communications Systems Directive 3-10; Web: tsp.ncs.gov.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

APPENDIX B

LOW Not Selected

MOD CP-8 (1) (2)

HIGH CP-8 (1) (2) (3) (4)

PAGE B-39

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION
IA-1

IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION POLICY AND PROCEDURES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops, documents, and disseminates to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]:1.

An identification and authentication policy that addresses purpose, scope, roles, responsibilities,
management commitment, coordination among organizational entities, and compliance; and2.

Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the identification and authentication policy andassociated identification and authentication controls; andReviews and updates the current:
1.

Identification and authentication policy [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; and2.

Identification and authentication procedures [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the establishment of policy and procedures for the effective

implementation of selected security controls and control enhancements in the IA family. Policy andprocedures reflect applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards,
and guidance. Security program policies and procedures at the organization level may make the need forsystem-specific policies and procedures unnecessary. The policy can be included as part of the general
information security policy for organizations or conversely, can be represented by multiple policies
reflecting the complex nature of certain organizations. The procedures can be established for the security
program in general and for particular information systems, if needed. The organizational risk management
strategy is a key factor in establishing policy and procedures. Related control: PM-9.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: FIPS Publication 201; NIST Special Publications 800-12, 800-63, 800-73, 800-76, 800-

78, 800-100.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

IA-2

LOW IA-1

MOD IA-1

IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION (ORGANIZATIONAL USERS)HIGH IA-1[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The information system uniquely identifies and authenticates organizational users (or processes

acting on behalf of organizational users).
Supplemental Guidance: Organizational users include employees or individuals that organizations deem to haveequivalent status of employees (e.g., contractors, guest researchers). This control applies to all accesses
other than: (i) accesses that are explicitly identified and documented in AC-14; and (ii) accesses that occur
through authorized use of group authenticators without individual authentication. Organizations may
require unique identification of individuals in group accounts (e.g., shared privilege accounts) or for
detailed accountability of individual activity. Organizations employ passwords, tokens, or biometrics toauthenticate user identities, or in the case multifactor authentication, or some combination thereof. Accessto organizational information systems is defined as either local access or network access. Local access isany access to organizational information systems by users (or processes acting on behalf of users) wheresuch access is obtained by direct connections without the use of networks. Network access is access toorganizational information systems by users (or processes acting on behalf of users) where such access isobtained through network connections (i.e., nonlocal accesses). Remote access is a type of network accessthat involves communication through external networks (e.g., the Internet). Internal networks include local
area networks and wide area networks. In addition, the use of encrypted virtual private networks (VPNs)
for network connections between organization-controlled endpoints and non-organization controlled
APPENDIX B

PAGE B-40

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

endpoints may be treated as internal networks from the perspective of protecting the confidentiality andintegrity of information traversing the network.
Organizations can satisfy the identification and authentication requirements in this control by complying
with the requirements in Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 consistent with the specificorganizational implementation plans. Multifactor authentication requires the use of two or more different
factors to achieve authentication. The factors are defined as: (i) something you know (e.g., password,
personal identification number [PIN]); (ii) something you have (e.g., cryptographic identification device,
token); or (iii) something you are (e.g., biometric). Multifactor solutions that require devices separate frominformation systems gaining access include, for example, hardware tokens providing time-based orchallenge-response authenticators and smart cards such as the U.S. Government Personal Identity
Verification card and the DoD common access card. In addition to identifying and authenticating users at
the information system level (i.e., at logon), organizations also employ identification and authentication
mechanisms at the application level, when necessary, to provide increased information security.
Identification and authentication requirements for other than organizational users are described in IA-8.
Related controls: AC-2, AC-3, AC-14, AC-17, AC-18, IA-4, IA-5, IA-8.
References: HSPD 12; OMB Memoranda 04-04, 06-16, 11-11; FIPS Publication 201; NIST Special Publications 800-63,
800-73, 800-76, 800-78; FICAM Roadmap and Implementation Guidance; Web: idmanagement.gov.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

IA-4

LOW IA-2 (1) (12)MOD IA-2 (1) (2) (3) (8) (11)

HIGH IA-2 (1) (2) (3) (4) (8) (9)(12)(11) (12)IDENTIFIER MANAGEMENT[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization manages information system identifiers by:a.

Receiving authorization from [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles] to assign anindividual, group, role, or device identifier;b.

Selecting an identifier that identifies an individual, group, role, or device;c.

Assigning the identifier to the intended individual, group, role, or device;d.

Preventing reuse of identifiers for [Assignment: organization-defined time period]; ande.

Disabling the identifier after [Assignment: organization-defined time period of inactivity].

Supplemental Guidance: Common device identifiers include, for example, media access control (MAC),

Internet protocol (IP) addresses, or device-unique token identifiers. Management of individual identifiers is
not applicable to shared information system accounts (e.g., guest and anonymous accounts). Typically,
individual identifiers are the user names of the information system accounts assigned to those individuals.
In such instances, the account management activities of AC-2 use account names provided by IA-4. This
control also addresses individual identifiers not necessarily associated with information system accounts(e.g., identifiers used in physical security control databases accessed by badge reader systems for access to
information systems). Preventing reuse of identifiers implies preventing the assignment of previously used
individual, group, role, or device identifiers to different individuals, groups, roles, or devices. Related
controls: AC-2, IA-2, IA-3, IA-5, IA-8, SC-37.
IA-4 (6)IDENTIFIER MANAGEMENT | CROSS-ORGANIZATION MANAGEMENT[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization coordinates with [Assignment: organization-defined external organizations] forcross-organization management of identifiers.
Supplemental Guidance: Cross-organization identifier management provides the capability fororganizations to appropriately identify individuals, groups, roles, or devices when conducting crossorganization activities involving the processing, storage, or transmission of information.
APPENDIX B

PAGE B-41

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

References: FIPS Publication 201; NIST Special Publications 800-73, 800-76, 800-78.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

IA-5

LOW IA-4

MOD IA-4

HIGH IA-4

AUTHENTICATOR MANAGEMENT[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization manages information system authenticators by:a.

Verifying, as part of the initial authenticator distribution, the identity of the individual, group, role, or
device receiving the authenticator;b.

Establishing initial authenticator content for authenticators defined by the organization;c.

Ensuring that authenticators have sufficient strength of mechanism for their intended use;d.

Establishing and implementing administrative procedures for initial authenticator distribution, forlost/compromised or damaged authenticators, and for revoking authenticators;e.

Changing default content of authenticators prior to information system installation;f.

Establishing minimum and maximum lifetime restrictions and reuse conditions for authenticators;g.

Changing/refreshing authenticators [Assignment: organization-defined time period by authenticatortype];

h.

Protecting authenticator content from unauthorized disclosure and modification;i.

Requiring individuals to take, and having devices implement, specific security safeguards to protect
authenticators; andj.

Changing authenticators for group/role accounts when membership to those accounts changes.

Supplemental Guidance: Individual authenticators include, for example, passwords, tokens, biometrics, PKI

certificates, and key cards. Initial authenticator content is the actual content (e.g., the initial password) as
opposed to requirements about authenticator content (e.g., minimum password length). In many cases,
developers ship information system components with factory default authentication credentials to allow for
initial installation and configuration. Default authentication credentials are often well known, easily
discoverable, and present a significant security risk. The requirement to protect individual authenticators
may be implemented via control PL-4 or PS-6 for authenticators in the possession of individuals and bycontrols AC-3, AC-6, and SC-28 for authenticators stored within organizational information systems (e.g.,
passwords stored in hashed or encrypted formats, files containing encrypted or hashed passwords
accessible with administrator privileges). Information systems support individual authenticator
management by organization-defined settings and restrictions for various authenticator characteristics
including, for example, minimum password length, password composition, validation time window for timesynchronous one-time tokens, and number of allowed rejections during the verification stage of biometricauthentication. Specific actions that can be taken to safeguard authenticators include, for example,
maintaining possession of individual authenticators, not loaning or sharing individual authenticators withothers, and reporting lost, stolen, or compromised authenticators immediately. Authenticator management
includes issuing and revoking, when no longer needed, authenticators for temporary access such as that
required for remote maintenance. Device authenticators include, for example, certificates and passwords.
Related controls: AC-2, AC-3, AC-6, CM-6, IA-2, IA-4, IA-8, PL-4, PS-5, PS-6, SC-12, SC-13, SC-17,
SC-28.
IA-5 (5)APPENDIX B

AUTHENTICATOR MANAGEMENT | CHANGE AUTHENTICATORS PRIOR TO
DELIVERY[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]PAGE B-42

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________The organization requires developers/installers of information system components to provide
unique authenticators or change default authenticators prior to delivery/installation.
Supplemental Guidance: This control enhancement extends the requirement for organizations to change
default authenticators upon information system installation, by requiring developers and/or installers toprovide unique authenticators or change default authenticators for system components prior to delivery
and/or installation. However, it typically does not apply to the developers of commercial off-the-shelve
information technology products. Requirements for unique authenticators can be included inacquisition documents prepared by organizations when procuring information systems or systemcomponents.
IA-5 (9)AUTHENTICATOR MANAGEMENT | CROSS-ORGANIZATION CREDENTIALMANAGEMENT[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization coordinates with [Assignment: organization-defined external organizations] forcross-organization management of credentials.
Supplemental Guidance: Cross-organization management of credentials provides the capability fororganizations to appropriately authenticate individuals, groups, roles, or devices when conducting
cross-organization activities involving the processing, storage, or transmission of information.
References: OMB Memoranda 04-04, 11-11; FIPS Publication 201; NIST Special Publications 800-73, 800-63, 800-76,
800-78; FICAM Roadmap and Implementation Guidance; Web: idmanagement.gov.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

IA-8

LOW IA-5 (1) (11)

MOD IA-5 (1) (2) (3) (11)

HIGH IA-5 (1) (2) (3) (11)IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION (NON-ORGANIZATIONAL USERS) [BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]
Control: The information system uniquely identifies and authenticates non-organizational users (or processes

acting on behalf of non-organizational users).
Supplemental Guidance: Non-organizational users include information system users other than organizational

users explicitly covered by IA-2. These individuals are uniquely identified and authenticated for accesses
other than those accesses explicitly identified and documented in AC-14. In accordance with the EAuthentication E-Government initiative, authentication of non-organizational users accessing federal
information systems may be required to protect federal, proprietary, or privacy-related information (withexceptions noted for national security systems). Organizations use risk assessments to determine
authentication needs and consider scalability, practicality, and security in balancing the need to ensure easeof use for access to federal information and information systems with the need to protect and adequately
mitigate risk. IA-2 addresses identification and authentication requirements for access to information
systems by organizational users. Related controls: AC-2, AC-14, AC-17, AC-18, IA-2, IA-4, IA-5, MA-4,
RA-3, SA-12, SC-8.
References: OMB Memoranda 04-04, 11-11, 10-06-2011; FICAM Roadmap and Implementation Guidance;

FIPS Publication 201; NIST Special Publications 800-63, 800-116; National Strategy for Trusted Identities
in Cyberspace; Web: idmanagement.gov.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

APPENDIX B

LOW IA-8 (1) (2) (3) (4)MOD IA-8 (1) (2) (3) (4)

HIGH IA-8 (1) (2) (3) (4)

PAGE B-43

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: INCIDENT RESPONSE
IR-1

INCIDENT RESPONSE POLICY AND PROCEDURES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops, documents, and disseminates to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]:1.

An incident response policy that addresses purpose, scope, roles, responsibilities, management
commitment, coordination among organizational entities, and compliance; and2.

Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the incident response policy and associated incident
response controls; andReviews and updates the current:
1.

Incident response policy [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; and2.

Incident response procedures [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the establishment of policy and procedures for the effective

implementation of selected security controls and control enhancements in the IR family. Policy andprocedures reflect applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards,
and guidance. Security program policies and procedures at the organization level may make the need forsystem-specific policies and procedures unnecessary. The policy can be included as part of the general
information security policy for organizations or conversely, can be represented by multiple policies
reflecting the complex nature of certain organizations. The procedures can be established for the security
program in general and for particular information systems, if needed. The organizational risk management
strategy is a key factor in establishing policy and procedures. Related control: PM-9.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-12, 800-61, 800-83, 800-100.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

IR-4

LOW IR-1

INCIDENT HANDLINGMOD IR-1

HIGH IR-1[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Implements an incident handling capability for security incidents that includes preparation, detection
and analysis, containment, eradication, and recovery;b.

Coordinates incident handling activities with contingency planning activities; andc.

Incorporates lessons learned from ongoing incident handling activities into incident response
procedures, training, and testing/exercises, and implements the resulting changes accordingly.

Supplemental Guidance: Organizations recognize that incident response capability is dependent on thecapabilities of organizational information systems and the mission/business processes being supported bythose systems. Therefore, organizations consider incident response as part of the definition, design, anddevelopment of mission/business processes and information systems. Incident-related information can beobtained from a variety of sources including, for example, audit monitoring, network monitoring, physicalaccess monitoring, user/administrator reports, and reported supply chain events. Effective incident handlingcapability includes coordination among many organizational entities including, for example,
mission/business owners, information system owners, authorizing officials, human resources offices,
physical and personnel security offices, legal departments, operations personnel, procurement offices, andthe risk executive (function). Relate control: AU-6, CM-6, CP-2, CP-4, IR-2, IR-3, IR-8, PE-6, SC-5, SC-7,
SI-3, SI-4, SI-7.
APPENDIX B

PAGE B-44

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
IR-4 (6)

INCIDENT HANDLING | INSIDER THREATS - SPECIFIC CAPABILITIES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization implements incident handling capability for insider threats.
Supplemental Guidance: While many organizations address insider threat incidents as an inherent part oftheir organizational incident response capability, this control enhancement provides additional
emphasis on this type of threat and the need for specific incident handling capabilities (as definedwithin organizations) to provide appropriate and timely responses.
IR-4 (7)

INCIDENT HANDLING | INSIDER THREATS - INTRA-ORGANIZATION
COORDINATION[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization coordinates incident handling capability for insider threats across [Assignment:
organization-defined components or elements of the organization].
Supplemental Guidance: Incident handling for insider threat incidents (including preparation, detection

and analysis, containment, eradication, and recovery) requires close coordination among a variety oforganizational components or elements to be effective. These components or elements include, forexample, mission/business owners, information system owners, human resources offices, procurement
offices, personnel/physical security offices, operations personnel, and risk executive (function). In
addition, organizations may require external support from federal, state, and local law enforcement
agencies.
IR-4 (10)

INCIDENT HANDLING | SUPPLY CHAIN COORDINATION[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization coordinates incident handling activities involving supply chain events withother organizations involved in the supply chain.
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations involved in supply chain activities include, for example,
system/product developers, integrators, manufacturers, packagers, assemblers, distributors, vendors,
and resellers. Supply chain incidents include, for example, compromises/breaches involving
information system components, information technology products, development processes or
personnel, and distribution processes or warehousing facilities.
References: Executive Order 13587; NIST Special Publication 800-61.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

IR-6

LOW IR-4

INCIDENT REPORTING

MOD IR-4 (1)HIGH IR-4 (1) (4)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Requires personnel to report suspected security incidents to the organizational incident response
capability within [Assignment: organization-defined time period]; andb.

Reports security incident information to [Assignment: organization-defined authorities].

Supplemental Guidance: The intent of this control is to address both specific incident reporting requirements

within an organization and the formal incident reporting requirements for federal agencies and theirsubordinate organizations. Suspected security incidents include, for example, the receipt of suspicious
email communications that can potentially contain malicious code. The types of security incidents reported,the content and timeliness of the reports, and the designated reporting authorities reflect applicable federallaws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards, and guidance. Current federal policy
requires that all federal agencies (unless specifically exempted from such requirements) report security
incidents to the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) within specified timeframes designated in the US-CERT Concept of Operations for Federal Cyber Security Incident Handling.
Related controls: IR-4, IR-5, IR-8.
Control Enhancements:
APPENDIX B

PAGE B-45

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
IR-6 (3)

INCIDENT REPORTING | COORDINATION WITH SUPPLY CHAIN[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization provides security incident information to other organizations involved in the
supply chain for information systems or information system components related to the incident.
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations involved in supply chain activities include, for example,
system/product developers, integrators, manufacturers, packagers, assemblers, distributors, vendors,
and resellers. Supply chain incidents include, for example, compromises/breaches involving
information system components, information technology products, development processes or
personnel, and distribution processes or warehousing facilities. Organizations determine theappropriate information to share considering the value gained from support by external organizations
with the potential for harm due to sensitive information being released to outside organizations ofperhaps questionable trustworthiness.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-61: Web: www.us-cert.gov.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1
IR-9

LOW IR-6

MOD IR-6 (1)INFORMATION SPILLAGE RESPONSE

HIGH IR-6 (1)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization responds to information spills by:a.

Identifying the specific information involved in the information system contamination;b.

Alerting [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles] of the information spill using a methodof communication not associated with the spill;c.

Isolating the contaminated information system or system component;d.

Eradicating the information from the contaminated information system or component;e.

Identifying other information systems or system components that may have been subsequently
contaminated; andf.

Performing other [Assignment: organization-defined actions].

Supplemental Guidance: Information spillage refers to instances where either classified or sensitive

information is inadvertently placed on information systems that are not authorized to process suchinformation. Such information spills often occur when information that is initially thought to be of lower
sensitivity is transmitted to an information system and then is subsequently determined to be of higher
sensitivity. At that point, corrective action is required. The nature of the organizational response isgenerally based upon the degree of sensitivity of the spilled information (e.g., security category orclassification level), the security capabilities of the information system, the specific nature of contaminatedstorage media, and the access authorizations (e.g., security clearances) of individuals with authorizedaccess to the contaminated system. The methods used to communicate information about the spill after thefact do not involve methods directly associated with the actual spill to minimize the risk of further
spreading the contamination before such contamination is isolated and eradicated.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P0

APPENDIX B

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

HIGH Not Selected

PAGE B-46

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: MAINTENANCE
MA-1

SYSTEM MAINTENANCE POLICY AND PROCEDURES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops, documents, and disseminates to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]:1.

A system maintenance policy that addresses purpose, scope, roles, responsibilities, management
commitment, coordination among organizational entities, and compliance; and2.

Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the system maintenance policy and associatedsystem maintenance controls; andReviews and updates the current:
1.

System maintenance policy [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; and2.

System maintenance procedures [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the establishment of policy and procedures for the effective

implementation of selected security controls and control enhancements in the MA family. Policy andprocedures reflect applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards,
and guidance. Security program policies and procedures at the organization level may make the need forsystem-specific policies and procedures unnecessary. The policy can be included as part of the general
information security policy for organizations or conversely, can be represented by multiple policies
reflecting the complex nature of certain organizations. The procedures can be established for the security
program in general and for particular information systems, if needed. The organizational risk management
strategy is a key factor in establishing policy and procedures. Related control: PM-9.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-12, 800-100.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

MA-2

LOW MA-1

MOD MA-1

HIGH MA-1

CONTROLLED MAINTENANCE
Control: The organization:a.

Schedules, performs, documents, and reviews records of maintenance and repairs on information
system components in accordance with manufacturer or vendor specifications and/or organizational
requirements;b.

Approves and monitors all maintenance activities, whether performed on site or remotely and whether
the equipment is serviced on site or removed to another location;c.

Requires that [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles] explicitly approve the removal of
the information system or system components from organizational facilities for off-site maintenance orrepairs;d.

Sanitizes equipment to remove all information from associated media prior to removal fromorganizational facilities for off-site maintenance or repairs;e.

Checks all potentially impacted security controls to verify that the controls are still functioning
properly following maintenance or repair actions; andf.

Includes [Assignment: organization-defined maintenance-related information] in organizational
maintenance records.

APPENDIX B

PAGE B-47

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the information security aspects of the information system

maintenance program and applies to all types of maintenance to any system component (including
applications) conducted by any local or nonlocal entity (e.g., in-contract, warranty, in-house, software
maintenance agreement). System maintenance also includes those components not directly associated withinformation processing and/or data/information retention such as scanners, copiers, and printers.
Information necessary for creating effective maintenance records includes, for example: (i) date and time ofmaintenance; (ii) name of individuals or group performing the maintenance; (iii) name of escort, if
necessary; (iv) a description of the maintenance performed; and (v) information systemcomponents/equipment removed or replaced (including identification numbers, if applicable). The level ofdetail included in maintenance records can be informed by the security categories of organizational
information systems. Organizations consider supply chain issues associated with replacement components
for information systems. Related controls: CM-3, CM-4, MA-4, MP-6, PE-16, SA-12, SI-2.
Control Enhancements:
MA-2 (2)

CONTROLLED MAINTENANCE | AUTOMATED MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization:(a) Employs automated mechanisms to schedule, conduct, and document maintenance andrepairs; and(b) Produces up-to date, accurate, and complete records of all maintenance and repair actions
requested, scheduled, in process, and completed.
Supplemental Guidance: Related controls: CA-7, MA-3.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P2

MA-3

LOW MA-2

MOD MA-2

MAINTENANCE TOOLSHIGH MA-2 (2)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization approves, controls, and monitors information system maintenance tools.
Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses security-related issues associated with maintenance tools used

specifically for diagnostic and repair actions on organizational information systems. Maintenance tools can
include hardware, software, and firmware items. Maintenance tools are potential vehicles for transporting
malicious code, either intentionally or unintentionally, into a facility and subsequently into organizational
information systems. Maintenance tools can include, for example, hardware/software diagnostic test
equipment and hardware/software packet sniffers. This control does not cover hardware/software
components that may support information system maintenance, yet are a part of the system, for example,
the software implementing “ping,” “ls,” “ipconfig,” or the hardware and software implementing themonitoring port of an Ethernet switch. Related controls: MA-2, MA-5, MP-6.
Control Enhancements:
MA-3 (1)MAINTENANCE TOOLS | INSPECT TOOLS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization inspects the maintenance tools carried into a facility by maintenance personnel
for improper or unauthorized modifications.
Supplemental Guidance: If, upon inspection of maintenance tools, organizations determine that the tools
have been modified in an improper/unauthorized manner or contain malicious code, the incident ishandled consistent with organizational policies and procedures for incident handling. Related control:
SI-7.
MA-3 (2)APPENDIX B

MAINTENANCE TOOLS | INSPECT MEDIA[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]PAGE B-48

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________The organization checks media containing diagnostic and test programs for malicious code
before the media are used in the information system.
Supplemental Guidance: If, upon inspection of media containing maintenance diagnostic and test
programs, organizations determine that the media contain malicious code, the incident is handledconsistent with organizational incident handling policies and procedures. Related control: SI-3.
MA-3 (3)MAINTENANCE TOOLS | PREVENT UNAUTHORIZED REMOVAL[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization prevents the unauthorized removal of maintenance equipment containing
organizational information by:(a) Verifying that there is no organizational information contained on the equipment;(b) Sanitizing or destroying the equipment;(c) Retaining the equipment within the facility; or(d) Obtaining an exemption from [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles] explicitly
authorizing removal of the equipment from the facility.
Supplemental Guidance: Organizational information includes all information specifically owned byorganizations and information provided to organizations in which organizations serve as information
stewards.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-88.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P3

MA-4

LOW Not Selected

MOD MA-3 (1) (2)NONLOCAL MAINTENANCE

HIGH MA-3 (1) (2) (3)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Approves and monitors nonlocal maintenance and diagnostic activities;b.

Allows the use of nonlocal maintenance and diagnostic tools only as consistent with organizational
policy and documented in the security plan for the information system;c.

Employs strong authenticators in the establishment of nonlocal maintenance and diagnostic sessions;d.

Maintains records for nonlocal maintenance and diagnostic activities; ande.

Terminates session and network connections when nonlocal maintenance is completed.

Supplemental Guidance: Nonlocal maintenance and diagnostic activities are those activities conducted byindividuals communicating through a network, either an external network (e.g., the Internet) or an internal
network. Local maintenance and diagnostic activities are those activities carried out by individuals
physically present at the information system or information system component and not communicating
across a network connection. Authentication techniques used in the establishment of nonlocal maintenanceand diagnostic sessions reflect the network access requirements in IA-2. Typically, strong authentication
requires authenticators that are resistant to replay attacks and employ multifactor authentication. Strong
authenticators include, for example, PKI where certificates are stored on a token protected by a password,
passphrase, or biometric. Enforcing requirements in MA-4 is accomplished in part by other controls. Relate
control: AC-2, AC-3, AC-6, AC-17, AU-2, AU-3, IA-2, IA-4, IA-5, IA-8, MA-2, MA-5, MP-6, PL-2, SC7, SC-10, SC-17.
MA-4 (2)APPENDIX BNONLOCAL MAINTENANCE | DOCUMENT NONLOCAL MAINTENANCE[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]PAGE B-49

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________The organization documents in the security plan for the information system, the policies andprocedures for the establishment and use of nonlocal maintenance and diagnostic connections.
MA-4 (3)NONLOCAL MAINTENANCE | COMPARABLE SECURITY / SANITIZATION[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization:
Requires that nonlocal maintenance and diagnostic services be performed from an information
system that implements a security capability comparable to the capability implemented on thesystem being serviced; orRemoves the component to be serviced from the information system and prior to nonlocal
maintenance or diagnostic services, sanitizes the component (with regard to organizational
information) before removal from organizational facilities, and after the service is performed,
inspects and sanitizes the component (with regard to potentially malicious software) before
reconnecting the component to the information system.
Supplemental Guidance: Comparable security capability on information systems, diagnostic tools, andequipment providing maintenance services implies that the implemented security controls on thosesystems, tools, and equipment are at least as comprehensive as the controls on the information systembeing serviced. Related controls: MA-3, SA-12, SI-3, SI-7.
References: FIPS Publications 140-2, 197, 201; NIST Special Publications 800-63, 800-88; CNSS Policy 15.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P2

MA-5

LOW MA-4

MOD MA-4 (2)MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL

HIGH MA-4 (2) (3)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Establishes a process for maintenance personnel authorization and maintains a list of authorized
maintenance organizations or personnel;b.

Ensures that non-escorted personnel performing maintenance on the information system have required
access authorizations; andc.

Designates organizational personnel with required access authorizations and technical competence tosupervise the maintenance activities of personnel who do not possess the required accessauthorizations.

Supplemental Guidance: This control applies to individuals performing hardware or software maintenance onorganizational information systems, while PE-2 addresses physical access for individuals whose
maintenance duties place them within the physical protection perimeter of the systems (e.g., custodial staff,
physical plant maintenance personnel). Technical competence of supervising individuals relates to themaintenance performed on the information systems while having required access authorizations refers tomaintenance on and near the systems. Individuals not previously identified as authorized maintenancepersonnel, such as information technology manufacturers, vendors, systems integrators, and consultants,
may require privileged access to organizational information systems, for example, when required to
conduct maintenance activities with little or no notice. Based on organizational assessments of risk,organizations may issue temporary credentials to these individuals. Temporary credentials may be for onetime use or for very limited time periods. Related controls: AC-2, IA-8, MP-2, PE-2, PE-3, PE-4, RA-3.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P2

APPENDIX B

LOW MA-5

MOD MA-5

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Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MA-6[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]TIMELY MAINTENANCE

Control: The organization obtains maintenance support and/or spare parts for [Assignment: organization-

defined information system components] within [Assignment: organization-defined time period] of failure.
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations specify the information system components that result in increased

risk to organizational operations and assets, individuals, other organizations, or the Nation when thefunctionality provided by those components is not operational. Organizational actions to obtain
maintenance support typically include having appropriate contracts in place. Related controls: CM-8, CP-2,
CP-7, SA-14, SA-15.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P2

APPENDIX B

LOW Not Selected

MOD MA-6

HIGH MA-6

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Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: MEDIA PROTECTION
MP-1

MEDIA PROTECTION POLICY AND PROCEDURES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops, documents, and disseminates to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]:1.

A media protection policy that addresses purpose, scope, roles, responsibilities, management
commitment, coordination among organizational entities, and compliance; and2.

Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the media protection policy and associated media
protection controls; andReviews and updates the current:

Media protection policy [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; and1.

Media protection procedures [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the establishment of policy and procedures for the effective

implementation of selected security controls and control enhancements in the MP family. Policy andprocedures reflect applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards,
and guidance. Security program policies and procedures at the organization level may make the need forsystem-specific policies and procedures unnecessary. The policy can be included as part of the general
information security policy for organizations or conversely, can be represented by multiple policies
reflecting the complex nature of certain organizations. The procedures can be established for the security
program in general and for particular information systems, if needed. The organizational risk management
strategy is a key factor in establishing policy and procedures. Related control: PM-9.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-12, 800-100.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

MP-5

LOW MP-1

MEDIA TRANSPORT

MOD MP-1

HIGH MP-1[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Protects and controls [Assignment: organization-defined types of information system media] duringtransport outside of controlled areas using [Assignment: organization-defined security safeguards];b.

Maintains accountability for information system media during transport outside of controlled areas;c.

Documents activities associated with the transport of information system media; andd.

Restricts the activities associated with the transport of information system media to authorized
personnel.

Supplemental Guidance: Information system media includes both digital and non-digital media. Digital media

includes, for example, diskettes, magnetic tapes, external/removable hard disk drives, flash drives, compact
disks, and digital video disks. Non-digital media includes, for example, paper and microfilm. This control
also applies to mobile devices with information storage capability (e.g., smart phones, tablets, E-readers)that are transported outside of controlled areas. Controlled areas are areas or spaces for which organizations
provide sufficient physical and/or procedural safeguards to meet the requirements established for protecting
information and/or information systems.
Physical and technical safeguards for media are commensurate with the security category or classificationof the information residing on the media. Safeguards to protect media during transport include, for
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

example, locked containers and cryptography. Cryptographic mechanisms can provide confidentiality andintegrity protections depending upon the mechanisms used. Activities associated with transport include theactual transport as well as those activities such as releasing media for transport and ensuring that media
enters the appropriate transport processes. For the actual transport, authorized transport and courier
personnel may include individuals from outside the organization (e.g., U.S. Postal Service or a commercial
transport or delivery service). Maintaining accountability of media during transport includes, for example,
restricting transport activities to authorized personnel, and tracking and/or obtaining explicit records oftransport activities as the media moves through the transportation system to prevent and detect loss,
destruction, or tampering. Organizations establish documentation requirements for activities associatedwith the transport of information system media in accordance with organizational assessments of risk toinclude the flexibility to define different record-keeping methods for the different types of media transport
as part of an overall system of transport-related records. Related controls: AC-19, CP-9, MP-3, MP-4, RA3, SC-8, SC-13, SC-28.
References: FIPS Publication 199; NIST Special Publication 800-60.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

MP-6

LOW Not Selected

MOD MP-5 (4)MEDIA SANITIZATIONHIGH MP-5 (4)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Sanitizes [Assignment: organization-defined information system media] prior to disposal, release out oforganizational control, or release for reuse using [Assignment: organization-defined sanitization
techniques and procedures] in accordance with applicable federal and organizational standards andpolicies; andb.

Employs sanitization mechanisms with the strength and integrity commensurate with the security
category or classification of the information.

Supplemental Guidance: This control applies to all information system media, both digital and non-digital,

subject to disposal or reuse, whether or not the media is considered removable. Examples include media
found in scanners, copiers, printers, notebook computers, workstations, network components, and mobile
devices. The sanitization process removes information from the media such that the information cannot be
retrieved or reconstructed. Sanitization techniques, including clearing, purging, cryptographic erase, anddestruction, prevent the disclosure of information to unauthorized individuals when such media is reused orreleased for disposal. Organizations determine the appropriate sanitization methods recognizing that
destruction is sometimes necessary when other methods cannot be applied to media requiring sanitization.
Organizations use discretion on the employment of approved sanitization techniques and procedures formedia containing information deemed to be in the public domain or publicly releasable, or deemed to haveno adverse impact on organizations or individuals if released for reuse or disposal. Sanitization of nondigital media includes, for example, removing a classified appendix from an otherwise unclassified
document, or redacting selected sections or words from a document by obscuring the redacted
sections/words in a manner equivalent in effectiveness to removing them from the document. NSA
standards and policies control the sanitization process for media containing classified information. Related
controls: MA-2, MA-4, RA-3, SC-4.
References: FIPS Publication 199; NIST Special Publications 800-60, 800-88; Web:www.nsa.gov/ia/mitigation_guidance/media_destruction_guidance/index.shtml.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

APPENDIX B

LOW MP-6

MOD MP-6

HIGH MP-6 (1) (2) (3)

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Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
PE-1

PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION POLICY AND PROCEDURES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]
Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops, documents, and disseminates to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]:1.

A physical and environmental protection policy that addresses purpose, scope, roles,
responsibilities, management commitment, coordination among organizational entities, andcompliance; and2.

Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the physical and environmental protection policy
and associated physical and environmental protection controls; andReviews and updates the current:
1.

Physical and environmental protection policy [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; and2.

Physical and environmental protection procedures [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the establishment of policy and procedures for the effective

implementation of selected security controls and control enhancements in the PE family. Policy andprocedures reflect applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards,
and guidance. Security program policies and procedures at the organization level may make the need forsystem-specific policies and procedures unnecessary. The policy can be included as part of the general
information security policy for organizations or conversely, can be represented by multiple policies
reflecting the complex nature of certain organizations. The procedures can be established for the security
program in general and for particular information systems, if needed. The organizational risk management
strategy is a key factor in establishing policy and procedures. Related control: PM-9.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-12, 800-100.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

PE-3

LOW PE-1

MOD PE-1

PHYSICAL ACCESS CONTROLHIGH PE-1[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Enforces physical access authorizations at [Assignment: organization-defined entry/exit points to thefacility where the information system resides] by;1.

Verifying individual access authorizations before granting access to the facility; and2.

Controlling ingress/egress to the facility using [Selection (one or more): [Assignment:
organization-defined physical access control systems/devices]; guards];b.

Maintains physical access audit logs for [Assignment: organization-defined entry/exit points];c.

Provides [Assignment: organization-defined security safeguards] to control access to areas within thefacility officially designated as publicly accessible;d.

Escorts visitors and monitors visitor activity [Assignment: organization-defined circumstances
requiring visitor escorts and monitoring];e.

Secures keys, combinations, and other physical access devices;

APPENDIX B

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Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________f.

Inventories [Assignment: organization-defined physical access devices] every [Assignment:
organization-defined frequency]; andg.

Changes combinations and keys [Assignment: organization-defined frequency] and/or when keys are
lost, combinations are compromised, or individuals are transferred or terminated.

Supplemental Guidance: This control applies to organizational employees and visitors. Individuals (e.g.,

employees, contractors, and others) with permanent physical access authorization credentials are notconsidered visitors. Organizations determine the types of facility guards needed including, for example,
professional physical security staff or other personnel such as administrative staff or information systemusers. Physical access devices include, for example, keys, locks, combinations, and card readers.
Safeguards for publicly accessible areas within organizational facilities include, for example, cameras,monitoring by guards, and isolating selected information systems and/or system components in secured
areas. Physical access control systems comply with applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives,
policies, regulations, standards, and guidance. The Federal Identity, Credential, and Access Management
Program provides implementation guidance for identity, credential, and access management capabilities forphysical access control systems. Organizations have flexibility in the types of audit logs employed. Audit
logs can be procedural (e.g., a written log of individuals accessing the facility and when such accessoccurred), automated (e.g., capturing ID provided by a PIV card), or some combination thereof. Physicalaccess points can include facility access points, interior access points to information systems and/or
components requiring supplemental access controls, or both. Components of organizational information
systems (e.g., workstations, terminals) may be located in areas designated as publicly accessible withorganizations safeguarding access to such devices. Related controls: AU-2, AU-6, MP-2, MP-4, PE-2, PE4, PE-5, PS-3, RA-3.
Control Enhancements:
PE-3 (5)PHYSICAL ACCESS CONTROL | TAMPER PROTECTION[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization employs [Assignment: organization-defined security safeguards] to [Selection(one or more): detect; prevent] physical tampering or alteration of [Assignment: organizationdefined hardware components] within the information system.
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations may implement tamper detection/prevention at selected hardware
components or tamper detection at some components and tamper prevention at other components.
Tamper detection/prevention activities can employ many types of anti-tamper technologies including,for example, tamper-detection seals and anti-tamper coatings. Anti-tamper programs help to detect
hardware alterations through counterfeiting and other supply chain-related risks. Related control: SA12.
References: FIPS Publication 201; NIST Special Publications 800-73, 800-76, 800-78, 800-116; ICD 704, 705; DoDI
5200.39; Personal Identity Verification (PIV) in Enterprise Physical Access Control System (E-PACS); Web:
idmanagement.gov, fips201ep.cio.gov.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

PE-6

LOW PE-3

MONITORING PHYSICAL ACCESSMOD PE-3

HIGH PE-3 (1)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Monitors physical access to the facility where the information system resides to detect and respond tophysical security incidents;b.

Reviews physical access logs [Assignment: organization-defined frequency] and upon occurrence of[Assignment: organization-defined events or potential indications of events]; and

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Special Publication 800-161

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________c.

Coordinates results of reviews and investigations with the organizational incident response capability.

Supplemental Guidance: Organizational incident response capabilities include investigations of and responses

to detected physical security incidents. Security incidents include, for example, apparent security violations
or suspicious physical access activities. Suspicious physical access activities include, for example: (i)accesses outside of normal work hours; (ii) repeated accesses to areas not normally accessed; (iii) accesses
for unusual lengths of time; and (iv) out-of-sequence accesses. Related controls: CA-7, IR-4, IR-8.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

PE-16

LOW PE-6

MOD PE-6 (1)DELIVERY AND REMOVALHIGH PE-6 (1) (4)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization authorizes, monitors, and controls [Assignment: organization-defined types of

information system components] entering and exiting the facility and maintains records of those items.
Supplemental Guidance: Effectively enforcing authorizations for entry and exit of information systemcomponents may require restricting access to delivery areas and possibly isolating the areas from theinformation system and media libraries. Related controls: CM-3, MA-2, MA-3, MP-5, SA-12.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P2

PE-17

LOW PE-16

MOD PE-16

ALTERNATE WORK SITE

HIGH PE-16[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Employs [Assignment: organization-defined security controls] at alternate work sites;b.

Assesses as feasible, the effectiveness of security controls at alternate work sites; andc.

Provides a means for employees to communicate with information security personnel in case of
security incidents or problems.

Supplemental Guidance: Alternate work sites may include, for example, government facilities or private
residences of employees. While commonly distinct from alternative processing sites, alternate work sites
may provide readily available alternate locations as part of contingency operations. Organizations may
define different sets of security controls for specific alternate work sites or types of sites depending on thework-related activities conducted at those sites. This control supports the contingency planning activities oforganizations and the federal telework initiative. Related controls: AC-17, CP-7.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-46.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P2

PE-18

LOW Not Selected

MOD PE-17

LOCATION OF INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENTSAPPENDIX B

HIGH PE-17[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]PAGE B-56

Special Publication 800-161

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Control: The organization positions information system components within the facility to minimize potential

damage from [Assignment: organization-defined physical and environmental hazards] and to minimize theopportunity for unauthorized access.
Supplemental Guidance: Physical and environmental hazards include, for example, flooding, fire, tornados,earthquakes, hurricanes, acts of terrorism, vandalism, electromagnetic pulse, electrical interference, andother forms of incoming electromagnetic radiation. In addition, organizations consider the location ofphysical entry points where unauthorized individuals, while not being granted access, might nonetheless bein close proximity to information systems and therefore increase the potential for unauthorized access toorganizational communications (e.g., through the use of wireless sniffers or microphones). Related
controls: CP-2, PE-19, RA-3.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P3

PE-20

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

ASSET MONITORING AND TRACKING

HIGH PE-18[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Employs [Assignment: organization-defined asset location technologies] to track and monitor thelocation and movement of [Assignment: organization-defined assets] within [Assignment:
organization-defined controlled areas]; andb.

Ensures that asset location technologies are employed in accordance with applicable federal laws,
Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards, and guidance.

Supplemental Guidance: Asset location technologies can help organizations ensure that critical assets such as

vehicles or essential information system components remain in authorized locations. Organizations consult
with the Office of the General Counsel and the Senior Agency Official for Privacy (SAOP)/Chief Privacy
Officer (CPO) regarding the deployment and use of asset location technologies to address potential privacy
concerns. Related control: CM-8.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P0

APPENDIX B

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

HIGH Not Selected

PAGE B-57

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: PLANNING
PL-1

SECURITY PLANNING POLICY AND PROCEDURES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops, documents, and disseminates to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]:1.

A security planning policy that addresses purpose, scope, roles, responsibilities, management
commitment, coordination among organizational entities, and compliance; and2.

Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the security planning policy and associated security
planning controls; andReviews and updates the current:
1.

Security planning policy [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; and2.

Security planning procedures [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the establishment of policy and procedures for the effective

implementation of selected security controls and control enhancements in the PL family. Policy andprocedures reflect applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards,
and guidance. Security program policies and procedures at the organization level may make the need forsystem-specific policies and procedures unnecessary. The policy can be included as part of the general
information security policy for organizations or conversely, can be represented by multiple policies
reflecting the complex nature of certain organizations. The procedures can be established for the security
program in general and for particular information systems, if needed. The organizational risk management
strategy is a key factor in establishing policy and procedures. Related control: PM-9.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-12, 800-18, 800-100.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1
PL-2

LOW PL-1

SYSTEM SECURITY PLAN

MOD PL-1

HIGH PL-1[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:

a.

b.
c.
d.

APPENDIX B

Develops a security plan for the information system that:
1. Is consistent with the organization’s enterprise architecture;
2. Explicitly defines the authorization boundary for the system;
3. Describes the operational context of the information system in terms of missions and businessprocesses;
4. Provides the security categorization of the information system including supporting rationale;
5. Describes the operational environment for the information system and relationships with orconnections to other information systems;
6. Provides an overview of the security requirements for the system;
7. Identifies any relevant overlays, if applicable;
8. Describes the security controls in place or planned for meeting those requirements including arationale for the tailoring and supplementation decisions; and9. Is reviewed and approved by the authorizing official or designated representative prior to plan
implementation;
Distributes copies of the security plan and communicates subsequent changes to the plan to[Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles];Reviews the security plan for the information system [Assignment: organization-defined frequency];
Updates the plan to address changes to the information system/environment of operation or problems
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

e.

Protects the security plan from unauthorized disclosure and modification.

Supplemental Guidance: Security plans relate security requirements to a set of security controls and control

enhancements. Security plans also describe, at a high level, how the security controls and control
enhancements meet those security requirements, but do not provide detailed, technical descriptions of thespecific design or implementation of the controls/enhancements. Security plans contain sufficient
information (including the specification of parameter values for assignment and selection statements either
explicitly or by reference) to enable a design and implementation that is unambiguously compliant with theintent of the plans and subsequent determinations of risk to organizational operations and assets,
individuals, other organizations, and the Nation if the plan is implemented as intended. Organizations canalso apply tailoring guidance to the security control baselines in Appendix B and CNSS Instruction 1253 todevelop overlays for community-wide use or to address specialized requirements, technologies, or
missions/environments of operation (e.g., DoD-tactical, Federal Public Key Infrastructure, or Federal
Identity, Credential, and Access Management, space operations). Appendix I provides guidance on
developing overlays.
Security plans need not be single documents; the plans can be a collection of various documents including
documents that already exist. Effective security plans make extensive use of references to policies,
procedures, and additional documents (e.g., design and implementation specifications) where more detailed
information can be obtained. This reduces the documentation requirements associated with security
programs and maintains security-related information in other established management/operational areas
related to enterprise architecture, system development life cycle, systems engineering, and acquisition. For
example, security plans do not contain detailed contingency plan or incident response plan information but
instead provide explicitly or by reference, sufficient information to define what needs to be accomplishedby those plans. Related controls: AC-2, AC-6, AC-14, AC-17, AC-20, CA-2, CA-3, CA-7, CM-9, CP-2,
IR-8, MA-4, MA-5, MP-2, MP-4, MP-5, PL-7, PM-1, PM-7, PM-8, PM-9, PM-11, SA-5, SA-17.
PL-2 (3)SYSTEM SECURITY PLAN | PLAN / COORDINATE WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONAL
ENTITIES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization plans and coordinates security-related activities affecting the information
system with [Assignment: organization-defined individuals or groups] before conducting suchactivities in order to reduce the impact on other organizational entities.
Supplemental Guidance: Security-related activities include, for example, security assessments, audits,
hardware and software maintenance, patch management, and contingency plan testing. Advanceplanning and coordination includes emergency and nonemergency (i.e., planned or nonurgent
unplanned) situations. The process defined by organizations to plan and coordinate security-related
activities can be included in security plans for information systems or other documents, as appropriate.
Related controls: CP-4, IR-4.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-18.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

PL-8

LOW PL-2

MOD PL-2 (3)INFORMATION SECURITY ARCHITECTURE

HIGH PL-2 (3)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

APPENDIX B

Develops an information security architecture for the information system that:1.

Describes the overall philosophy, requirements, and approach to be taken with regard to protecting
the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of organizational information;2.

Describes how the information security architecture is integrated into and supports the enterprisearchitecture; andPAGE B-59

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3.

Describes any information security assumptions about, and dependencies on, external services;b.

Reviews and updates the information security architecture [Assignment: organization-defined
frequency] to reflect updates in the enterprise architecture; andc.

Ensures that planned information security architecture changes are reflected in the security plan, thesecurity Concept of Operations (CONOPS), and organizational procurements/acquisitions.

Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses actions taken by organizations in the design and developmentof information systems. The information security architecture at the individual information system level isconsistent with and complements the more global, organization-wide information security architecture
described in PM-7 that is integral to and developed as part of the enterprise architecture. The information
security architecture includes an architectural description, the placement/allocation of security functionality(including security controls), security-related information for external interfaces, information being
exchanged across the interfaces, and the protection mechanisms associated with each interface. In addition,
the security architecture can include other important security-related information, for example, user roles
and access privileges assigned to each role, unique security requirements, the types of information
processed, stored, and transmitted by the information system, restoration priorities of information andinformation system services, and any other specific protection needs.
In today’s modern architecture, it is becoming less common for organizations to control all information
resources. There are going to be key dependencies on external information services and service providers.
Describing such dependencies in the information security architecture is important to developing acomprehensive mission/business protection strategy. Establishing, developing, documenting, andmaintaining under configuration control, a baseline configuration for organizational information systems iscritical to implementing and maintaining an effective information security architecture. The development of
the information security architecture is coordinated with the Senior Agency Official for Privacy(SAOP)/Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) to ensure that security controls needed to support privacy
requirements are identified and effectively implemented. PL-8 is primarily directed at organizations (i.e.,internally focused) to help ensure that organizations develop an information security architecture for the
information system, and that the security architecture is integrated with or tightly coupled to the enterprisearchitecture through the organization-wide information security architecture. In contrast, SA-17 is primarily
directed at external information technology product/system developers and integrators (although SA-17
could be used internally within organizations for in-house system development). SA-17, which iscomplementary to PL-8, is selected when organizations outsource the development of information systems
or information system components to external entities, and there is a need to demonstrate/show consistency
with the organization’s enterprise architecture and information security architecture. Related controls: CM2, CM-6, PL-2, PM-7, SA-5, SA-17, Appendix J.
PL-8 (2)

INFORMATION SECURITY ARCHITECTURE | SUPPLIER DIVERSITY[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization requires that [Assignment: organization-defined security safeguards] allocatedto [Assignment: organization-defined locations and architectural layers] are obtained fromdifferent suppliers.
Supplemental Guidance: Different information technology products have different strengths andweaknesses. Providing a broad spectrum of products complements the individual offerings. For
example, vendors offering malicious code protection typically update their products at different times,
often developing solutions for known viruses, Trojans, or worms according to their priorities anddevelopment schedules. By having different products at different locations (e.g., server, boundary,desktop) there is an increased likelihood that at least one will detect the malicious code. Related
control: SA-12.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

APPENDIX B

LOW Not Selected

MOD PL-8

HIGH PL-8

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

PM-1

INFORMATION SECURITY PROGRAM PLAN

[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Develops and disseminates an organization-wide information security program plan that:1.

Provides an overview of the requirements for the security program and a description of the
security program management controls and common controls in place or planned for meeting
those requirements;

2.

Includes the identification and assignment of roles, responsibilities, management commitment,
coordination among organizational entities, and compliance;

3.

Reflects coordination among organizational entities responsible for the different aspects of
information security (i.e., technical, physical, personnel, cyber-physical); and4.

Is approved by a senior official with responsibility and accountability for the risk being incurred toorganizational operations (including mission, functions, image, and reputation), organizational
assets, individuals, other organizations, and the Nation;b.

Reviews the organization-wide information security program plan [Assignment: organization-defined
frequency];c.

Updates the plan to address organizational changes and problems identified during plan
implementation or security control assessments; andd.

Protects the information security program plan from unauthorized disclosure and modification.

Supplemental Guidance: Information security program plans can be represented in single documents orcompilations of documents at the discretion of organizations. The plans document the program
management controls and organization-defined common controls. Information security program plansprovide sufficient information about the program management controls/common controls (including
specification of parameters for any assignment and selection statements either explicitly or by reference) toenable implementations that are unambiguously compliant with the intent of the plans and a determinationof the risk to be incurred if the plans are implemented as intended.
The security plans for individual information systems and the organization-wide information security
program plan together, provide complete coverage for all security controls employed within theorganization. Common controls are documented in an appendix to the organization’s information security
program plan unless the controls are included in a separate security plan for an information system (e.g.,security controls employed as part of an intrusion detection system providing organization-wide boundary
protection inherited by one or more organizational information systems). The organization-wide
information security program plan will indicate which separate security plans contain descriptions ofcommon controls.
Organizations have the flexibility to describe common controls in a single document or in multiple
documents. In the case of multiple documents, the documents describing common controls are included asattachments to the information security program plan. If the information security program plan contains
multiple documents, the organization specifies in each document the organizational official or officials
responsible for the development, implementation, assessment, authorization, and monitoring of therespective common controls. For example, the organization may require that the Facilities Management
Office develop, implement, assess, authorize, and continuously monitor common physical andenvironmental protection controls from the PE family when such controls are not associated with aparticular information system but instead, support multiple information systems. Related control: PM-8.
References: None.

APPENDIX B

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Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PM-2

SENIOR INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICER[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization appoints a senior information security officer with the mission and resources tocoordinate, develop, implement, and maintain an organization-wide information security program.
Supplemental Guidance: The security officer described in this control is an organizational official. For afederal agency (as defined in applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, or regulations)this official is the Senior Agency Information Security Officer. Organizations may also refer to this official
as the Senior Information Security Officer or Chief Information Security Officer.
References: None.

PM-3

INFORMATION SECURITY RESOURCES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Ensures that all capital planning and investment requests include the resources needed to implement
the information security program and documents all exceptions to this requirement;b.

Employs a business case/Exhibit 300/Exhibit 53 to record the resources required; andc.

Ensures that information security resources are available for expenditure as planned.

Supplemental Guidance: Organizations consider establishing champions for information security efforts andas part of including the necessary resources, assign specialized expertise and resources as needed.
Organizations may designate and empower an Investment Review Board (or similar group) to manage andprovide oversight for the information security-related aspects of the capital planning and investment control
process. Related controls: PM-4, SA-2.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-65.

PM-11

MISSION/BUSINESS PROCESS DEFINITION[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Defines mission/business processes with consideration for information security and the resulting risk toorganizational operations, organizational assets, individuals, other organizations, and the Nation; andb.

Determines information protection needs arising from the defined mission/business processes andrevises the processes as necessary, until achievable protection needs are obtained.

Supplemental Guidance: Information protection needs are technology-independent, required capabilities tocounter threats to organizations, individuals, or the Nation through the compromise of information (i.e.,loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability). Information protection needs are derived from themission/business needs defined by the organization, the mission/business processes selected to meet thestated needs, and the organizational risk management strategy. Information protection needs determine therequired security controls for the organization and the associated information systems supporting themission/business processes. Inherent in defining an organization’s information protection needs is anunderstanding of the level of adverse impact that could result if a compromise of information occurs. The
security categorization process is used to make such potential impact determinations. Mission/businessprocess definitions and associated information protection requirements are documented by the organizationin accordance with organizational policy and procedure. Related controls: PM-7, PM-8, RA-2.
References: FIPS Publication 199; NIST Special Publication 800-60.
PM-12

INSIDER THREAT PROGRAM

APPENDIX B[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]PAGE B-62

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Control: The organization implements an insider threat program that includes a cross-discipline insider

threat incident handling team.
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations handling classified information are required, under Executive Order

13587 and the National Policy on Insider Threat, to establish insider threat programs. The standards andguidelines that apply to insider threat programs in classified environments can also be employed effectively
to improve the security of Controlled Unclassified Information in non-national security systems. Insider
threat programs include security controls to detect and prevent malicious insider activity through thecentralized integration and analysis of both technical and nontechnical information to identify potential
insider threat concerns. A senior organizational official is designated by the department/agency head as the
responsible individual to implement and provide oversight for the program. In addition to the centralized
integration and analysis capability, insider threat programs as a minimum, prepare department/agency
insider threat policies and implementation plans, conduct host-based user monitoring of individual
employee activities on government-owned classified computers, provide insider threat awareness training
to employees, receive access to information from all offices within the department/agency (e.g., humanresources, legal, physical security, personnel security, information technology, information system security,and law enforcement) for insider threat analysis, and conduct self-assessments of department/agency
insider threat posture.
Insider threat programs can leverage the existence of incident handling teams organizations may alreadyhave in place, such as computer security incident response teams. Human resources records are especially
important in this effort, as there is compelling evidence to show that some types of insider crimes are often
preceded by nontechnical behaviors in the workplace (e.g., ongoing patterns of disgruntled behavior andconflicts with coworkers and other colleagues). These precursors can better inform and guideorganizational officials in more focused, targeted monitoring efforts. The participation of a legal team isimportant to ensure that all monitoring activities are performed in accordance with appropriate legislation,
directives, regulations, policies, standards, and guidelines. Related controls: AC-6, AT-2, AU-6, AU-7AU-10, AU-12, AU-13, CA-7, IA-4, IR-4, MP-7, PE-2, PS-3, PS-4, PS-5, PS-8, SC-7, SC-38, SI-4, PM-1,
PM-14.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: Executive Order 13587.

PM-16

THREAT AWARENESS PROGRAM[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization implements a threat awareness program that includes a cross-organization

information-sharing capability.
Supplemental Guidance: Because of the constantly changing and increasing sophistication of adversaries,

especially the advanced persistent threat (APT), it is becoming more likely that adversaries may
successfully breach or compromise organizational information systems. One of the best techniques toaddress this concern is for organizations to share threat information. This can include, for example, sharing
threat events (i.e., tactics, techniques, and procedures) that organizations have experienced, mitigations thatorganizations have found are effective against certain types of threats, threat intelligence (i.e., indications
and warnings about threats that are likely to occur). Threat information sharing may be bilateral (e.g.,
government-commercial cooperatives, government-government cooperatives), or multilateral (e.g.,organizations taking part in threat-sharing consortia). Threat information may be highly sensitive requiring
special agreements and protection, or less sensitive and freely shared. Related controls: PM-12, PM-16.
References: None

APPENDIX B

PAGE B-63

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: PERSONNEL SECURITY
PS-1

PERSONNEL SECURITY POLICY AND PROCEDURES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops, documents, and disseminates to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]:1.

A personnel security policy that addresses purpose, scope, roles, responsibilities, management
commitment, coordination among organizational entities, and compliance; and2.

Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the personnel security policy and associatedpersonnel security controls; andReviews and updates the current:
1.

Personnel security policy [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; and2.

Personnel security procedures [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the establishment of policy and procedures for the effective

implementation of selected security controls and control enhancements in the PS family. Policy andprocedures reflect applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards,
and guidance. Security program policies and procedures at the organization level may make the need forsystem-specific policies and procedures unnecessary. The policy can be included as part of the general
information security policy for organizations or conversely, can be represented by multiple policies
reflecting the complex nature of certain organizations. The procedures can be established for the security
program in general and for particular information systems, if needed. The organizational risk management
strategy is a key factor in establishing policy and procedures. Related control: PM-9.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-12, 800-100.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

PS-6

LOW PS-1

ACCESS AGREEMENTS

MOD PS-1

HIGH PS-1[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Develops and documents access agreements for organizational information systems;b.

Reviews and updates the access agreements [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; andc.

Ensures that individuals requiring access to organizational information and information systems:
1.

Sign appropriate access agreements prior to being granted access; and2.

Re-sign access agreements to maintain access to organizational information systems when accessagreements have been updated or [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: Access agreements include, for example, nondisclosure agreements, acceptable use

agreements, rules of behavior, and conflict-of-interest agreements. Signed access agreements include an
acknowledgement that individuals have read, understand, and agree to abide by the constraints associatedwith organizational information systems to which access is authorized. Organizations can use electronic
signatures to acknowledge access agreements unless specifically prohibited by organizational policy.
Related control: PL-4, PS-2, PS-3, PS-4, PS-8.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:

APPENDIX B

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Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
P3

PS-7

LOW PS-6

MOD PS-6

THIRD-PARTY PERSONNEL SECURITY

HIGH PS-6[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Establishes personnel security requirements including security roles and responsibilities for third-party
providers;b.

Requires third-party providers to comply with personnel security policies and procedures establishedby the organization;c.

Documents personnel security requirements;d.

Requires third-party providers to notify [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles] of any
personnel transfers or terminations of third-party personnel who possess organizational credentials
and/or badges, or who have information system privileges within [Assignment: organization-definedtime period]; ande.

Monitors provider compliance.

Supplemental Guidance: Third-party providers include, for example, service bureaus, contractors, and otherorganizations providing information system development, information technology services, outsourced
applications, and network and security management. Organizations explicitly include personnel security
requirements in acquisition-related documents. Third-party providers may have personnel working atorganizational facilities with credentials, badges, or information system privileges issued by organizations.
Notifications of third-party personnel changes ensure appropriate termination of privileges and credentials.
Organizations define the transfers and terminations deemed reportable by security-related characteristics
that include, for example, functions, roles, and nature of credentials/privileges associated with individuals
transferred or terminated. Related controls: PS-2, PS-3, PS-4, PS-5, PS-6, SA-9, SA-21.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-35.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

APPENDIX B

LOW PS-7

MOD PS-7

HIGH PS-7

PAGE B-65

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: RISK ASSESSMENT
RA-1

RISK ASSESSMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops, documents, and disseminates to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]:1.

A risk assessment policy that addresses purpose, scope, roles, responsibilities, management
commitment, coordination among organizational entities, and compliance; and2.

Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the risk assessment policy and associated risk
assessment controls; andReviews and updates the current:
1.

Risk assessment policy [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; and2.

Risk assessment procedures [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the establishment of policy and procedures for the effective

implementation of selected security controls and control enhancements in the RA family. Policy andprocedures reflect applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards,
and guidance. Security program policies and procedures at the organization level may make the need forsystem-specific policies and procedures unnecessary. The policy can be included as part of the general
information security policy for organizations or conversely, can be represented by multiple policies
reflecting the complex nature of certain organizations. The procedures can be established for the security
program in general and for particular information systems, if needed. The organizational risk management
strategy is a key factor in establishing policy and procedures. Related control: PM-9.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-12, 800-30, 800-100.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

RA-2

LOW RA-1

SECURITY CATEGORIZATION

MOD RA-1

HIGH RA-1[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Categorizes information and the information system in accordance with applicable federal laws,
Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations, standards, and guidance;b.

Documents the security categorization results (including supporting rationale) in the security plan for
the information system; andc.

Ensures that the security categorization decision is reviewed and approved by the authorizing official
or authorizing official designated representative.

Supplemental Guidance: Clearly defined authorization boundaries are a prerequisite for effective security

categorization decisions. Security categories describe the potential adverse impacts to organizational
operations, organizational assets, and individuals if organizational information and information systems arecomprised through a loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Organizations conduct the security
categorization process as an organization-wide activity with the involvement of chief information officers,
senior information security officers, information system owners, mission/business owners, and information
owners/stewards. Organizations also consider the potential adverse impacts to other organizations and, in
accordance with the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 and Homeland Security Presidential Directives, potential
national-level adverse impacts. Security categorization processes carried out by organizations facilitate thedevelopment of inventories of information assets, and along with CM-8, mappings to specific information
APPENDIX B

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

system components where information is processed, stored, or transmitted. Related controls: CM-8, MP-4,
RA-3, SC-7.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: FIPS Publication 199; NIST Special Publications 800-30, 800-39, 800-60.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

RA-3

LOW RA-2

RISK ASSESSMENT

MOD RA-2

HIGH RA-2[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Conducts an assessment of risk, including the likelihood and magnitude of harm, from theunauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction of the information systemand the information it processes, stores, or transmits;b.

Documents risk assessment results in [Selection: security plan; risk assessment report; [Assignment:
organization-defined document]];c.

Reviews risk assessment results [Assignment: organization-defined frequency];d.

Disseminates risk assessment results to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]; ande.

Updates the risk assessment [Assignment: organization-defined frequency] or whenever there are
significant changes to the information system or environment of operation (including the identificationof new threats and vulnerabilities), or other conditions that may impact the security state of the system.
Supplemental Guidance: Clearly defined authorization boundaries are a prerequisite for effective risk

assessments. Risk assessments take into account threats, vulnerabilities, likelihood, and impact toorganizational operations and assets, individuals, other organizations, and the Nation based on theoperation and use of information systems. Risk assessments also take into account risk from external
parties (e.g., service providers, contractors operating information systems on behalf of theorganization, individuals accessing organizational information systems, outsourcing entities). In
accordance with OMB policy and related E-authentication initiatives, authentication of public users
accessing federal information systems may also be required to protect nonpublic or privacy-related
information. As such, organizational assessments of risk also address public access to federal
information systems.
Risk assessments (either formal or informal) can be conducted at all three tiers in the risk management
hierarchy (i.e., organization level, mission/business process level, or information system level) and at
any phase in the system development life cycle. Risk assessments can also be conducted at various
steps in the Risk Management Framework, including categorization, security control selection, security
control implementation, security control assessment, information system authorization, and security
control monitoring. RA-3 is noteworthy in that the control must be partially implemented prior to theimplementation of other controls in order to complete the first two steps in the Risk Management
Framework. Risk assessments can play an important role in security control selection processes,
particularly during the application of tailoring guidance, which includes security control
supplementation. Related controls: RA-2, PM-9.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: OMB Memorandum 04-04; NIST Special Publication 800-30, 800-39; Web: idmanagement.gov.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:

APPENDIX B

PAGE B-67

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________P1

APPENDIX B

LOW RA-3

MOD RA-3

HIGH RA-3

PAGE B-68

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: SYSTEM AND SERVICES ACQUISITION
SA-1

SYSTEM AND SERVICES ACQUISITION POLICY AND PROCEDURES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops, documents, and disseminates to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]:1.

A system and services acquisition policy that addresses purpose, scope, roles, responsibilities,
management commitment, coordination among organizational entities, and compliance; and2.

Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the system and services acquisition policy andassociated system and services acquisition controls; andReviews and updates the current:
1.

System and services acquisition policy [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; and2.

System and services acquisition procedures [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the establishment of policy and procedures for the effective

implementation of selected security controls and control enhancements in the SA family. Policy andprocedures reflect applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards,
and guidance. Security program policies and procedures at the organization level may make the need forsystem-specific policies and procedures unnecessary. The policy can be included as part of the general
information security policy for organizations or conversely, can be represented by multiple policies
reflecting the complex nature of certain organizations. The procedures can be established for the security
program in general and for particular information systems, if needed. The organizational risk management
strategy is a key factor in establishing policy and procedures. Related control: PM-9.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-12, 800-100.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

SA-2

LOW SA-1

MOD SA-1

ALLOCATION OF RESOURCESHIGH SA-1[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Determines information security requirements for the information system or information systemservice in mission/business process planning;b.

Determines, documents, and allocates the resources required to protect the information system or
information system service as part of its capital planning and investment control process; andc.

Establishes a discrete line item for information security in organizational programming and budgeting
documentation.

Supplemental Guidance: Resource allocation for information security includes funding for the initial

information system or information system service acquisition and funding for the sustainment of thesystem/service. Related controls: PM-3, PM-11.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-65.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1
APPENDIX B

LOW SA-2

MOD SA-2

HIGH SA-2
PAGE B-69

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________SA-3

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Manages the information system using [Assignment: organization-defined system development life
cycle] that incorporates information security considerations;b.

Defines and documents information security roles and responsibilities throughout the systemdevelopment life cycle;c.

Identifies individuals having information security roles and responsibilities; andd.

Integrates the organizational information security risk management process into system development
life cycle activities.

Supplemental Guidance: A well-defined system development life cycle provides the foundation for the

successful development, implementation, and operation of organizational information systems. To apply
the required security controls within the system development life cycle requires a basic understanding of
information security, threats, vulnerabilities, adverse impacts, and risk to critical missions/business
functions. The security engineering principles in SA-8 cannot be properly applied if individuals that design,code, and test information systems and system components (including information technology products) do
not understand security. Therefore, organizations include qualified personnel, for example, chief
information security officers, security architects, security engineers, and information system security
officers in system development life cycle activities to ensure that security requirements are incorporated
into organizational information systems. It is equally important that developers include individuals on thedevelopment team that possess the requisite security expertise and skills to ensure that needed security
capabilities are effectively integrated into the information system. Security awareness and training
programs can help ensure that individuals having key security roles and responsibilities have theappropriate experience, skills, and expertise to conduct assigned system development life cycle activities.
The effective integration of security requirements into enterprise architecture also helps to ensure thatimportant security considerations are addressed early in the system development life cycle and that thoseconsiderations are directly related to the organizational mission/business processes. This process also
facilitates the integration of the information security architecture into the enterprise architecture, consistent
with organizational risk management and information security strategies. Related controls: AT-3, PM-7,
SA-8.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-37, 800-64.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

SA-4

LOW SA-3

MOD SA-3

ACQUISITION PROCESSHIGH SA-3[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization includes the following requirements, descriptions, and criteria, explicitly or byreference, in the acquisition contract for the information system, system component, or information systemservice in accordance with applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations,standards, guidelines, and organizational mission/business needs:a.

Security functional requirements;b.

Security strength requirements;c.

Security assurance requirements;d.

Security-related documentation requirements;

APPENDIX B

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Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________e.

Requirements for protecting security-related documentation;f.

Description of the information system development environment and environment in which the system
is intended to operate; andg.

Acceptance criteria.

Supplemental Guidance: Information system components are discrete, identifiable information technology

assets (e.g., hardware, software, or firmware) that represent the building blocks of an information system.
Information system components include commercial information technology products. Security functional
requirements include security capabilities, security functions, and security mechanisms. Security strength
requirements associated with such capabilities, functions, and mechanisms include degree of correctness,completeness, resistance to direct attack, and resistance to tampering or bypass. Security assurance
requirements include: (i) development processes, procedures, practices, and methodologies; and (ii)evidence from development and assessment activities providing grounds for confidence that the required
security functionality has been implemented and the required security strength has been achieved. Security
documentation requirements address all phases of the system development life cycle.
Security functionality, assurance, and documentation requirements are expressed in terms of security
controls and control enhancements that have been selected through the tailoring process. The security
control tailoring process includes, for example, the specification of parameter values through the use of
assignment and selection statements and the specification of platform dependencies and implementation
information. Security documentation provides user and administrator guidance regarding theimplementation and operation of security controls. The level of detail required in security documentation isbased on the security category or classification level of the information system and the degree to whichorganizations depend on the stated security capability, functions, or mechanisms to meet overall risk
response expectations (as defined in the organizational risk management strategy). Security requirements
can also include organizationally mandated configuration settings specifying allowed functions, ports,
protocols, and services. Acceptance criteria for information systems, information system components, andinformation system services are defined in the same manner as such criteria for any organizational
acquisition or procurement. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Section 7.103 contains information
security requirements from FISMA. Related controls: CM-6, PL-2, PS-7, SA-3, SA-5, SA-8, SA-11, SA12.
SA-4 (5)ACQUISITION PROCESS | SYSTEM / COMPONENT / SERVICE CONFIGURATIONS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization requires the developer of the information system, system component, or
information system service to:(a)

Deliver the system, component, or service with [Assignment: organization-defined security
configurations] implemented; and(b)

Use the configurations as the default for any subsequent system, component, or service
reinstallation or upgrade.
Supplemental Guidance: Security configurations include, for example, the U.S. Government
Configuration Baseline (USGCB) and any limitations on functions, ports, protocols, and services.
Security characteristics include, for example, requiring that all default passwords have been changed.
Related control: CM-8.
SA-4 (7)ACQUISITION PROCESS | NIAP-APPROVED PROTECTION PROFILES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization:(a)

APPENDIX B

Limits the use of commercially provided information assurance (IA) and IA-enabled
information technology products to those products that have been successfully evaluatedagainst a National Information Assurance partnership (NIAP)-approved Protection Profile
for a specific technology type, if such a profile exists; andPAGE B-71

Special Publication 800-161

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________(b)

Requires, if no NIAP-approved Protection Profile exists for a specific technology type but acommercially provided information technology product relies on cryptographic functionality
to enforce its security policy, that the cryptographic module is FIPS-validated.
Supplemental Guidance: Related controls: SC-12, SC-13.
References: HSPD-12; ISO/IEC 15408; FIPS Publications 140-2, 201; NIST Special Publications 800-23,

800-35, 800-36, 800-37, 800-64, 800-70, 800-137; Federal Acquisition Regulation; Web: www.niapccevs.org, fips201ep.cio.gov, www.acquisition.gov/far.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

SA-5

LOW SA-4 (10)MOD SA-4 (1) (2) (9) (10)INFORMATION SYSTEM DOCUMENTATIONHIGH SA-4 (1) (2) (9) (10)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

b.

Obtains administrator documentation for the information system, system component, or information
system service that describes:
1.

Secure configuration, installation, and operation of the system, component, or service;2.

Effective use and maintenance of security functions/mechanisms; and3.

Known vulnerabilities regarding configuration and use of administrative (i.e., privileged)functions;Obtains user documentation for the information system, system component, or information systemservice that describes:
1.

User-accessible security functions/mechanisms and how to effectively use those security
functions/mechanisms;2.

Methods for user interaction, which enables individuals to use the system, component, or service
in a more secure manner; and3.

User responsibilities in maintaining the security of the system, component, or service;c.

Documents attempts to obtain information system, system component, or information system service
documentation when such documentation is either unavailable or nonexistent and [Assignment:
organization-defined actions] in response;d.

Protects documentation as required, in accordance with the risk management strategy; ande.

Distributes documentation to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles].

Supplemental Guidance: This control helps organizational personnel understand the implementation andoperation of security controls associated with information systems, system components, and information
system services. Organizations consider establishing specific measures to determine thequality/completeness of the content provided. The inability to obtain needed documentation may occur, forexample, due to the age of the information system/component or lack of support from developers andcontractors. In those situations, organizations may need to recreate selected documentation if such
documentation is essential to the effective implementation or operation of security controls. The level ofprotection provided for selected information system, component, or service documentation iscommensurate with the security category or classification of the system. For example, documentation
associated with a key DoD weapons system or command and control system would typically require ahigher level of protection than a routine administrative system. Documentation that addresses information
system vulnerabilities may also require an increased level of protection. Secure operation of theinformation system, includes, for example, initially starting the system and resuming secure system
operation after any lapse in system operation. Related controls: CM-6, CM-8, PL-2, PL-4, PS-2, SA-3, SA4.
APPENDIX B

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P2

SA-8

LOW SA-5

MOD SA-5

SECURITY ENGINEERING PRINCIPLESHIGH SA-5[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization applies information system security engineering principles in the specification,

design, development, implementation, and modification of the information system.
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations apply security engineering principles primarily to new development

information systems or systems undergoing major upgrades. For legacy systems, organizations apply
security engineering principles to system upgrades and modifications to the extent feasible, given thecurrent state of hardware, software, and firmware within those systems. Security engineering principles
include, for example: (i) developing layered protections; (ii) establishing sound security policy,architecture, and controls as the foundation for design; (iii) incorporating security requirements into thesystem development life cycle; (iv) delineating physical and logical security boundaries; (v) ensuring thatsystem developers are trained on how to build secure software; (vi) tailoring security controls to meetorganizational and operational needs; (vii) performing threat modeling to identify use cases, threat agents,
attack vectors, and attack patterns as well as compensating controls and design patterns needed to mitigate
risk; and (viii) reducing risk to acceptable levels, thus enabling informed risk management decisions.
Related controls: PM-7, SA-3, SA-4, SA-17, SC-2, SC-3.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-27.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

SA-9

LOW Not Selected

MOD SA-8

EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEM SERVICESHIGH SA-8[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Requires that providers of external information system services comply with organizational
information security requirements and employ [Assignment: organization-defined security controls] inaccordance with applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations, standards,
and guidance;b.

Defines and documents government oversight and user roles and responsibilities with regard to
external information system services; andc.

Employs [Assignment: organization-defined processes, methods, and techniques] to monitor security
control compliance by external service providers on an ongoing basis.

Supplemental Guidance: External information system services are services that are implemented outside of

the authorization boundaries of organizational information systems. This includes services that are used by,
but not a part of, organizational information systems. FISMA and OMB policy require that organizations
using external service providers that are processing, storing, or transmitting federal information oroperating information systems on behalf of the federal government ensure that such providers meet thesame security requirements that federal agencies are required to meet. Organizations establish relationships
with external service providers in a variety of ways including, for example, through joint ventures, business
partnerships, contracts, interagency agreements, lines of business arrangements, licensing agreements, andsupply chain exchanges. The responsibility for managing risks from the use of external information systemservices remains with authorizing officials. For services external to organizations, a chain of trust requires
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

that organizations establish and retain a level of confidence that each participating provider in thepotentially complex consumer-provider relationship provides adequate protection for the services rendered.
The extent and nature of this chain of trust varies based on the relationships between organizations and theexternal providers. Organizations document the basis for trust relationships so the relationships can bemonitored over time. External information system services documentation includes government, service
providers, end user security roles and responsibilities, and service-level agreements. Service-levelagreements define expectations of performance for security controls, describe measurable outcomes, andidentify remedies and response requirements for identified instances of noncompliance. Related controls:
CA-3, IR-7, PS-7.
SA-9 (1)

EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS | RISK ASSESSMENTS / ORGANIZATIONALAPPROVALS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization:(a)Conducts an organizational assessment of risk prior to the acquisition or outsourcing ofdedicated information security services; and(b)

Ensures that the acquisition or outsourcing of dedicated information security services isapproved by [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles].
Supplemental Guidance: Dedicated information security services include, for example, incident
monitoring, analysis and response, operation of information security-related devices such as firewalls,
or key management services. Related controls: CA-6, RA-3.
SA-9 (3)EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS | ESTABLISH / MAINTAIN TRUSTRELATIONSHIP WITH PROVIDERS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization establishes, documents, and maintains trust relationships with external service
providers based on [Assignment: organization-defined security requirements, properties, factors, orconditions defining acceptable trust relationships].
Supplemental Guidance: The degree of confidence that the risk from using external services is at an
acceptable level depends on the trust that organizations place in the external providers, individually orin combination. Trust relationships can help organization to gain increased levels of confidence thatparticipating service providers are providing adequate protection for the services rendered. Such
relationships can be complicated due to the number of potential entities participating in the consumerprovider interactions, subordinate relationships and levels of trust, and the types of interactions
between the parties. In some cases, the degree of trust is based on the amount of direct control
organizations are able to exert on external service providers with regard to employment of security
controls necessary for the protection of the service/information and the evidence brought forth as to theeffectiveness of those controls. The level of control is typically established by the terms and conditionsof the contracts or service-level agreements and can range from extensive control (e.g., negotiating
contracts or agreements that specify security requirements for the providers) to very limited control(e.g., using contracts or service-level agreements to obtain commodity services such as commercial
telecommunications services). In other cases, levels of trust are based on factors that convinceorganizations that required security controls have been employed and that determinations of control
effectiveness exist. For example, separately authorized external information system services provided
to organizations through well-established business relationships may provide degrees of trust in suchservices within the tolerable risk range of the organizations using the services. External service
providers may also outsource selected services to other external entities, making the trust relationshipmore difficult and complicated to manage. Depending on the nature of the services, organizations may
find it very difficult to place significant trust in external providers. This is not due to any inherent
untrustworthiness on the part of providers, but to the intrinsic level of risk in the services.
SA-9 (4)APPENDIX B

EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS | CONSISTENT INTERESTS OF CONSUMERS
AND PROVIDERS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]PAGE B-74

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________The organization employs [Assignment: organization-defined security safeguards] to ensure thatthe interests of [Assignment: organization-defined external service providers] are consistent withand reflect organizational interests.
Supplemental Guidance: As organizations increasingly use external service providers, the possibility
exists that the interests of the service providers may diverge from organizational interests. In suchsituations, simply having the correct technical, procedural, or operational safeguards in place may not
be sufficient if the service providers that implement and control those safeguards are not operating in amanner consistent with the interests of the consuming organizations. Possible actions thatorganizations might take to address such concerns include, for example, requiring background checks
for selected service provider personnel, examining ownership records, employing only trustworthy
service providers (i.e., providers with which organizations have had positive experiences), andconducting periodic/unscheduled visits to service provider facilities.
SA-9 (5)EXTERNAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS | PROCESSING, STORAGE, AND SERVICELOCATION[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization restricts the location of [Selection (one or more): information processing;information/data; information system services] to [Assignment: organization-defined locations]based on [Assignment: organization-defined requirements or conditions].
Supplemental Guidance: The location of information processing, information/data storage, or information
system services that are critical to organizations can have a direct impact on the ability of thoseorganizations to successfully execute their missions/business functions. This situation exists when
external providers control the location of processing, storage or services. The criteria external
providers use for the selection of processing, storage, or service locations may be different fromorganizational criteria. For example, organizations may want to ensure that data/information storage
locations are restricted to certain locations to facilitate incident response activities (e.g., forensic
analyses, after-the-fact investigations) in case of information security breaches/compromises. Suchincident response activities may be adversely affected by the governing laws or protocols in thelocations where processing and storage occur and/or the locations from which information systemservices emanate.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-35.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

SA-10

LOW SA-9

MOD SA-9 (2)DEVELOPER CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENTHIGH SA-9 (2)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization requires the developer of the information system, system component, or

information system service to:a.

Perform configuration management during system, component, or service [Selection (one or more):design; development; implementation; operation];b.

Document, manage, and control the integrity of changes to [Assignment: organization-defined
configuration items under configuration management];c.

Implement only organization-approved changes to the system, component, or service;d.

Document approved changes to the system, component, or service and the potential security impacts ofsuch changes; ande.

Track security flaws and flaw resolution within the system, component, or service and report findings
to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel].

Supplemental Guidance: This control also applies to organizations conducting internal information systems

development and integration. Organizations consider the quality and completeness of the configuration
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

management activities conducted by developers as evidence of applying effective security safeguards.
Safeguards include, for example, protecting from unauthorized modification or destruction, the mastercopies of all material used to generate security-relevant portions of the system hardware, software, andfirmware. Maintaining the integrity of changes to the information system, information system component,
or information system service requires configuration control throughout the system development life cycle
to track authorized changes and prevent unauthorized changes. Configuration items that are placed underconfiguration management (if existence/use is required by other security controls) include: the formal
model; the functional, high-level, and low-level design specifications; other design data; implementation
documentation; source code and hardware schematics; the running version of the object code; tools forcomparing new versions of security-relevant hardware descriptions and software/firmware source codewith previous versions; and test fixtures and documentation. Depending on the mission/business needs oforganizations and the nature of the contractual relationships in place, developers may provide configuration
management support during the operations and maintenance phases of the life cycle. Related controls: CM3, CM-4, CM-9, SA-12, SI-2.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-128.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

SA-11

LOW Not Selected

MOD SA-10

DEVELOPER SECURITY TESTING AND EVALUATIONHIGH SA-10[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization requires the developer of the information system, system component, or

information system service to:a.

Create and implement a security assessment plan;b.

Perform [Selection (one or more): unit; integration; system; regression] testing/evaluation at[Assignment: organization-defined depth and coverage];c.

Produce evidence of the execution of the security assessment plan and the results of the security
testing/evaluation;d.

Implement a verifiable flaw remediation process; ande.

Correct flaws identified during security testing/evaluation.

Supplemental Guidance: Developmental security testing/evaluation occurs at all post‐design phases of thesystem development life cycle. Such testing/evaluation confirms that the required security controls are
implemented correctly, operating as intended, enforcing the desired security policy, and meeting
established security requirements. Security properties of information systems may be affected by theinterconnection of system components or changes to those components. These interconnections or changes(e.g., upgrading or replacing applications and operating systems) may adversely affect previously
implemented security controls. This control provides additional types of security testing/evaluation thatdevelopers can conduct to reduce or eliminate potential flaws. Testing custom software applications may
require approaches such as static analysis, dynamic analysis, binary analysis, or a hybrid of the three
approaches. Developers can employ these analysis approaches in a variety of tools (e.g., web-based
application scanners, static analysis tools, binary analyzers) and in source code reviews. Security
assessment plans provide the specific activities that developers plan to carry out including the types ofanalyses, testing, evaluation, and reviews of software and firmware components, the degree of rigor to be
applied, and the types of artifacts produced during those processes. The depth of security testing/evaluationrefers to the rigor and level of detail associated with the assessment process (e.g., black box, gray box, or
white box testing). The coverage of security testing/evaluation refers to the scope (i.e., number and type) of
the artifacts included in the assessment process. Contracts specify the acceptance criteria for security
assessment plans, flaw remediation processes, and the evidence that the plans/processes have been
diligently applied. Methods for reviewing and protecting assessment plans, evidence, and documentation
are commensurate with the security category or classification level of the information system. Contracts
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

may specify documentation protection requirements. Related controls: CA-2, CM-4, SA-3, SA-4, SA-5, SI2.
References: ISO/IEC 15408; NIST Special Publication 800-53A; Web: nvd.nist.gov, cwe.mitre.org, cve.mitre.org,
capec.mitre.org.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

SA-12

LOW Not Selected

SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION

MOD SA-11

HIGH SA-11[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization protects against supply chain threats to the information system, systemcomponent, or information system service by employing [Assignment: organization-defined security
safeguards] as part of a comprehensive, defense-in-breadth information security strategy.
Supplemental Guidance: Information systems (including system components that compose those systems)

need to be protected throughout the system development life cycle (i.e., during design, development,
manufacturing, packaging, assembly, distribution, system integration, operations, maintenance, andretirement). Protection of organizational information systems is accomplished through threat awareness, by
the identification, management, and reduction of vulnerabilities at each phase of the life cycle and the useof complementary, mutually reinforcing strategies to respond to risk. Organizations consider implementing
a standardized process to address supply chain risk with respect to information systems and systemcomponents, and to educate the acquisition workforce on threats, risk, and required security controls.
Organizations use the acquisition/procurement processes to require supply chain entities to implement
necessary security safeguards to: (i) reduce the likelihood of unauthorized modifications at each stage in the
supply chain; and (ii) protect information systems and information system components, prior to taking
delivery of such systems/components. This control enhancement also applies to information systemservices. Security safeguards include, for example: (i) security controls for development systems,
development facilities, and external connections to development systems; (ii) vetting development
personnel; and (iii) use of tamper-evident packaging during shipping/warehousing. Methods for reviewing
and protecting development plans, evidence, and documentation are commensurate with the security
category or classification level of the information system. Contracts may specify documentation protection
requirements. Related controls: AT-3, CM-8, IR-4, PE-16, PL-8, SA-3, SA-4, SA-8, SA-10, SA-14, SA-15,
SA-18, SA-19, SC-29, SC-30, SC-38, SI-7.
Control Enhancements:
SA-12 (1)

SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | ACQUISITION STRATEGIES / TOOLS / METHODS [BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization employs [Assignment: organization-defined tailored acquisition strategies,
contract tools, and procurement methods] for the purchase of the information system, systemcomponent, or information system service from suppliers.
Supplemental Guidance: The use of acquisition and procurement processes by organizations early in thesystem development life cycle provides an important vehicle to protect the supply chain. Organizations
use available all-source intelligence analysis to inform the tailoring of acquisition strategies, tools, andmethods. There are a number of different tools and techniques available (e.g., obscuring the end use of
an information system or system component, using blind or filtered buys). Organizations also consider
creating incentives for suppliers who: (i) implement required security safeguards; (ii) promotetransparency into their organizational processes and security practices; (iii) provide additional vettingof the processes and security practices of subordinate suppliers, critical information systemcomponents, and services; (iv) restrict purchases from specific suppliers or countries; and (v) provide
contract language regarding the prohibition of tainted or counterfeit components. In addition,organizations consider minimizing the time between purchase decisions and required delivery to limit
opportunities for adversaries to corrupt information system components or products. Finally,organizations can use trusted/controlled distribution, delivery, and warehousing options to reduce
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

supply chain risk (e.g., requiring tamper-evident packaging of information system components during
shipping and warehousing). Related control: SA-19.
SA-12 (2)

SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | SUPPLIER REVIEWS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization conducts a supplier review prior to entering into a contractual agreement toacquire the information system, system component, or information system service.
Supplemental Guidance: Supplier reviews include, for example: (i) analysis of supplier processes used todesign, develop, test, implement, verify, deliver, and support information systems, system components,
and information system services; and (ii) assessment of supplier training and experience in developing
systems, components, or services with the required security capability. These reviews provide
organizations with increased levels of visibility into supplier activities during the system development
life cycle to promote more effective supply chain risk management. Supplier reviews can also help todetermine whether primary suppliers have security safeguards in place and a practice for vetting
subordinate suppliers, for example, second- and third-tier suppliers, and any subcontractors.
SA-12 (5)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | LIMITATION OF HARM

[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization employs [Assignment: organization-defined security safeguards] to limit harmfrom potential adversaries identifying and targeting the organizational supply chain.
Supplemental Guidance: Supply chain risk is part of the advanced persistent threat (APT). Security
safeguards and countermeasures to reduce the probability of adversaries successfully identifying andtargeting the supply chain include, for example: (i) avoiding the purchase of custom configurations to
reduce the risk of acquiring information systems, components, or products that have been corrupted via
supply chain actions targeted at specific organizations; (ii) employing a diverse set of suppliers to limit
the potential harm from any given supplier in the supply chain; (iii) employing approved vendor lists
with standing reputations in industry, and (iv) using procurement carve outs (i.e., exclusions tocommitments or obligations).
SA-12 (7)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | ASSESSMENTS PRIOR TO SELECTION /ACCEPTANCE / UPDATE[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization conducts an assessment of the information system, system component, or
information system service prior to selection, acceptance, or update.
Supplemental Guidance: Assessments include, for example, testing, evaluations, reviews, and analyses.
Independent, third-party entities or organizational personnel conduct assessments of systems,
components, products, tools, and services. Organizations conduct assessments to uncover unintentional
vulnerabilities and intentional vulnerabilities including, for example, malicious code, malicious
processes, defective software, and counterfeits. Assessments can include, for example, static analyses,
dynamic analyses, simulations, white, gray, and black box testing, fuzz testing, penetration testing, andensuring that components or services are genuine (e.g., using tags, cryptographic hash verifications, ordigital signatures). Evidence generated during security assessments is documented for follow-on
actions carried out by organizations. Related controls: CA-2, SA-11.
SA-12 (8)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | USE OF ALL-SOURCE INTELLIGENCE[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization uses all-source intelligence analysis of suppliers and potential suppliers of theinformation system, system component, or information system service.
Supplemental Guidance: All-source intelligence analysis is employed by organizations to inform
engineering, acquisition, and risk management decisions. All-source intelligence consists ofintelligence products and/or organizations and activities that incorporate all sources of information,
most frequently including human intelligence, imagery intelligence, measurement and signatureintelligence, signals intelligence, and open source data in the production of finished intelligence.
Where available, such information is used to analyze the risk of both intentional and unintentional
vulnerabilities from development, manufacturing, and delivery processes, people, and the environment.
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This review is performed on suppliers at multiple tiers in the supply chain sufficient to manage risks.
Related control: SA-15.
SA-12 (9)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | OPERATIONS SECURITY[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization employs [Assignment: organization-defined Operations Security (OPSEC)
safeguards] in accordance with classification guides to protect supply chain-related information
for the information system, system component, or information system service.
Supplemental Guidance: Supply chain information includes, for example: user identities; uses for
information systems, information system components, and information system services; supplier
identities; supplier processes; security requirements; design specifications; testing and evaluation
results; and system/component configurations. This control enhancement expands the scope of OPSEC
to include suppliers and potential suppliers. OPSEC is a process of identifying critical information andsubsequently analyzing friendly actions attendant to operations and other activities to: (i) identify thoseactions that can be observed by potential adversaries; (ii) determine indicators that adversaries mightobtain that could be interpreted or pieced together to derive critical information in sufficient time tocause harm to organizations; (iii) implement safeguards or countermeasures to eliminate or reduce toan acceptable level, exploitable vulnerabilities; and (iv) consider how aggregated information may
compromise the confidentiality of users or uses of the supply chain. OPSEC may require organizations
to withhold critical mission/business information from suppliers and may include the use ofintermediaries to hide the end use, or users, of information systems, system components, orinformation system services. Related control: PE-21.
SA-12 (10)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | VALIDATE AS GENUINE AND NOT ALTERED[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization employs [Assignment: organization-defined security safeguards] to validatethat the information system or system component received is genuine and has not been altered.
Supplemental Guidance: For some information system components, especially hardware, there aretechnical means to help determine if the components are genuine or have been altered. Security
safeguards used to validate the authenticity of information systems and information systemcomponents include, for example, optical/nanotechnology tagging and side-channel analysis. For
hardware, detailed bill of material information can highlight the elements with embedded logic
complete with component and production location
SA-12 (11)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | PENETRATION TESTING / ANALYSIS OFELEMENTS, PROCESSES, AND ACTORS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization employs [Selection (one or more): organizational analysis, independent thirdparty analysis, organizational penetration testing, independent third-party penetration testing] of[Assignment: organization-defined supply chain elements, processes, and actors] associated with
the information system, system component, or information system service.
Supplemental Guidance: This control enhancement addresses analysis and/or testing of the supply chain,

not just delivered items. Supply chain elements are information technology products or productcomponents that contain programmable logic and that are critically important to information system
functions. Supply chain processes include, for example: (i) hardware, software, and firmware
development processes; (ii) shipping/handling procedures; (iii) personnel and physical security
programs; (iv) configuration management tools/measures to maintain provenance; or (v) any otherprograms, processes, or procedures associated with the production/distribution of supply chain
elements. Supply chain actors are individuals with specific roles and responsibilities in the supply
chain. The evidence generated during analyses and testing of supply chain elements, processes, andactors is documented and used to inform organizational risk management activities and decisions.
Related control: RA-5.
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Special Publication 800-161

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SA-12 (12)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL AGREEMENTS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization establishes inter-organizational agreements and procedures with entities
involved in the supply chain for the information system, system component, or information
system service.
Supplemental Guidance: The establishment of inter-organizational agreements and procedures provides

for notification of supply chain compromises. Early notification of supply chain compromises that canpotentially adversely affect or have adversely affected organizational information systems, including
critical system components, is essential for organizations to provide appropriate responses to such
incidents.
SA-12 (13)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | CRITICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENTS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization employs [Assignment: organization-defined security safeguards] to ensure anadequate supply of [Assignment: organization-defined critical information system components].
Supplemental Guidance: Adversaries can attempt to impede organizational operations by disrupting the

supply of critical information system components or corrupting supplier operations. Safeguards toensure adequate supplies of critical information system components include, for example: (i) the use ofmultiple suppliers throughout the supply chain for the identified critical components; and (ii)stockpiling of spare components to ensure operation during mission-critical times.
SA-12 (14)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | IDENTITY AND TRACEABILITY[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization establishes and retains unique identification of [Assignment: organizationdefined supply chain elements, processes, and actors] for the information system, systemcomponent, or information system service.
Supplemental Guidance: Knowing who and what is in the supply chains of organizations is critical togaining visibility into what is happening within such supply chains, as well as monitoring andidentifying high-risk events and activities. Without reasonable visibility and traceability into supply
chains (i.e., elements, processes, and actors), it is very difficult for organizations to understand andtherefore manage risk, and to reduce the likelihood of adverse events. Uniquely identifying acquirer
and integrator roles, organizations, personnel, mission and element processes, testing and evaluation
procedures, delivery mechanisms, support mechanisms, communications/delivery paths, anddisposal/final disposition activities as well as the components and tools used, establishes a foundational
identity structure for assessment of supply chain activities. For example, labeling (using serial
numbers) and tagging (using radio-frequency identification [RFID] tags) individual supply chain
elements including software packages, modules, and hardware devices, and processes associated withthose elements can be used for this purpose. Identification methods are sufficient to support theprovenance in the event of a supply chain issue or adverse supply chain event
SA-12 (15)SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | PROCESSES TO ADDRESS WEAKNESSES OR
DEFICIENCIES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization establishes a process to address weaknesses or deficiencies in supply chain
elements identified during independent or organizational assessments of such elements.
Supplemental Guidance: Evidence generated during independent or organizational assessments of supply

chain elements (e.g., penetration testing, audits, verification/validation activities) is documented andused in follow-on processes implemented by organizations to respond to the risks related to theidentified weaknesses and deficiencies. Supply chain elements include, for example, supplierdevelopment processes and supplier distribution systems.

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
References: NIST Special Publication 800-161; NIST Interagency Report 7622.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

SA-13

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

TRUSTWORTHINESSHIGH SA-12[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Describes the trustworthiness required in the [Assignment: organization-defined information system,
information system component, or information system service] supporting its critical missions/business
functions; andb.

Implements [Assignment: organization-defined assurance overlay] to achieve such trustworthiness.

Supplemental Guidance: This control helps organizations to make explicit trustworthiness decisions when

designing, developing, and implementing information systems that are needed to conduct criticalorganizational missions/business functions. Trustworthiness is a characteristic/property of an information
system that expresses the degree to which the system can be expected to preserve the confidentiality,
integrity, and availability of the information it processes, stores, or transmits. Trustworthy information
systems are systems that are capable of being trusted to operate within defined levels of risk despite theenvironmental disruptions, human errors, and purposeful attacks that are expected to occur in the specified
environments of operation. Trustworthy systems are important to mission/business success. Two factors
affecting the trustworthiness of information systems include: (i) security functionality (i.e., the security
features, functions, and/or mechanisms employed within the system and its environment of operation); and(ii) security assurance (i.e., the grounds for confidence that the security functionality is effective in its
application). Developers, implementers, operators, and maintainers of organizational information systems
can increase the level of assurance (and trustworthiness), for example, by employing well-defined security
policy models, structured and rigorous hardware, software, and firmware development techniques, soundsystem/security engineering principles, and secure configuration settings (defined by a set of assurancerelated security controls in Appendix B).
Assurance is also based on the assessment of evidence produced during the system development life cycle.
Critical missions/business functions are supported by high-impact systems and the associated assurance
requirements for such systems. The additional assurance controls in Table E-4 in Appendix B (designatedas optional) can be used to develop and implement high-assurance solutions for specific information
systems and system components using the concept of overlays described in Appendix I. Organizations
select assurance overlays that have been developed, validated, and approved for community adoption (e.g.,cross-organization, governmentwide), limiting the development of such overlays on an organization-byorganization basis. Organizations can conduct criticality analyses as described in SA-14, to determine theinformation systems, system components, or information system services that require high-assurance
solutions. Trustworthiness requirements and assurance overlays can be described in the security plans fororganizational information systems. Related controls: RA-2, SA-4, SA-8, SA-14, SC-3.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: FIPS Publications 199, 200; NIST Special Publications 800-53, 800-53A, 800-60, 800-64.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P0

SA-14

LOW Not Selected

CRITICALITY ANALYSISMOD Not Selected

HIGH Not Selected[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization identifies critical information system components and functions by performing a

criticality analysis for [Assignment: organization-defined information systems, information system
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

components, or information system services] at [Assignment: organization-defined decision points in thesystem development life cycle].
Supplemental Guidance: Criticality analysis is a key tenet of supply chain risk management and informs theprioritization of supply chain protection activities such as attack surface reduction, use of all-source
intelligence, and tailored acquisition strategies. Information system engineers can conduct an end-to-end
functional decomposition of an information system to identify mission-critical functions and components.
The functional decomposition includes the identification of core organizational missions supported by thesystem, decomposition into the specific functions to perform those missions, and traceability to thehardware, software, and firmware components that implement those functions, including when thefunctions are shared by many components within and beyond the information system boundary.
Information system components that allow for unmediated access to critical components or functions are
considered critical due to the inherent vulnerabilities such components create. Criticality is assessed interms of the impact of the function or component failure on the ability of the component to complete theorganizational missions supported by the information system. A criticality analysis is performed wheneveran architecture or design is being developed or modified, including upgrades. Related controls: CP-2, PL-2,
PL-8, PM-1, SA-8, SA-12, SA-13, SA-15, SA-20.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P0

SA-15

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, STANDARDS, AND TOOLSHIGH Not Selected[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

b.

Requires the developer of the information system, system component, or information system service tofollow a documented development process that:1.

Explicitly addresses security requirements;

2.

Identifies the standards and tools used in the development process;3.

Documents the specific tool options and tool configurations used in the development process; and4.

Documents, manages, and ensures the integrity of changes to the process and/or tools used indevelopment; andReviews the development process, standards, tools, and tool options/configurations [Assignment:
organization-defined frequency] to determine if the process, standards, tools, and tool
options/configurations selected and employed can satisfy [Assignment: organization-defined security
requirements].

Supplemental Guidance: Development tools include, for example, programming languages and computer-aided design (CAD) systems. Reviews of development processes can include, for example, the use of
maturity models to determine the potential effectiveness of such processes. Maintaining the integrity ofchanges to tools and processes enables accurate supply chain risk assessment and mitigation, and requires
robust configuration control throughout the life cycle (including design, development, transport, delivery,
integration, and maintenance) to track authorized changes and prevent unauthorized changes. Related
controls: SA-3, SA-8.
SA-15 (3)

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, STANDARDS, AND TOOLS | CRITICALITY ANALYSIS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization requires the developer of the information system, system component, or
information system service to perform a criticality analysis at [Assignment: organization-definedbreadth/depth] and at [Assignment: organization-defined decision points in the system development
life cycle].
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Supplemental Guidance: This control enhancement provides developer input to the criticality analysis

performed by organizations in SA-14. Developer input is essential to such analysis because
organizations may not have access to detailed design documentation for information systemcomponents that are developed as commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) information technology products(e.g., functional specifications, high-level designs, low-level designs, and source code/hardware
schematics). Related controls: SA-4, SA-14.
SA-15 (4)DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, STANDARDS, AND TOOLS | THREAT MODELING /VULNERABILITY ANALYSIS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization requires that developers perform threat modeling and a vulnerability analysis
for the information system at [Assignment: organization-defined breadth/depth] that:(a) Uses [Assignment: organization-defined information concerning impact, environment ofoperations, known or assumed threats, and acceptable risk levels];(b) Employs [Assignment: organization-defined tools and methods]; and(c) Produces evidence that meets [Assignment: organization-defined acceptance criteria].
Supplemental Guidance: Related control: SA-4.
SA-15 (8)DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, STANDARDS, AND TOOLS | REUSE OF THREAT /VULNERABILITY INFORMATION[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization requires the developer of the information system, system component, or
information system service to use threat modeling and vulnerability analyses from similarsystems, components, or services to inform the current development process.
Supplemental Guidance: Analysis of vulnerabilities found in similar software applications can inform
potential design or implementation issues for information systems under development. Similar
information systems or system components may exist within developer organizations. Authoritative
vulnerability information is available from a variety of public and private sector sources including, forexample, the National Vulnerability Database.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P2

SA-16

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

HIGH SA-15[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]DEVELOPER-PROVIDED TRAINING

Control: The organization requires the developer of the information system, system component, or

information system service to provide [Assignment: organization-defined training] on the correct use andoperation of the implemented security functions, controls, and/or mechanisms.
Supplemental Guidance: This control applies to external and internal (in-house) developers. Training of

personnel is an essential element to ensure the effectiveness of security controls implemented withinorganizational information systems. Training options include, for example, classroom-style training, webbased/computer-based training, and hands-on training. Organizations can also request sufficient training
materials from developers to conduct in-house training or offer self-training to organizational personnel.
Organizations determine the type of training necessary and may require different types of training fordifferent security functions, controls, or mechanisms. Related controls: AT-2, AT-3, SA-5.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P2

APPENDIX B

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

HIGH SA-16

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SA-17

DEVELOPER SECURITY ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization requires the developer of the information system, system component, or

information system service to produce a design specification and security architecture that:a.

Is consistent with and supportive of the organization’s security architecture which is established within
and is an integrated part of the organization’s enterprise architecture;b.

Accurately and completely describes the required security functionality, and the allocation of security
controls among physical and logical components; andc.

Expresses how individual security functions, mechanisms, and services work together to provide
required security capabilities and a unified approach to protection.

Supplemental Guidance: This control is primarily directed at external developers, although it could also be

used for internal (in-house) development. In contrast, PL-8 is primarily directed at internal developers to
help ensure that organizations develop an information security architecture and such security architecture is
integrated or tightly coupled to the enterprise architecture. This distinction is important if/whenorganizations outsource the development of information systems, information system components, orinformation system services to external entities, and there is a requirement to demonstrate consistency withthe organization’s enterprise architecture and information security architecture. Related controls: PL-8,
PM-7, SA-3, SA-8.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

SA-18

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

TAMPER RESISTANCE AND DETECTION

HIGH SA-17[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization implements a tamper protection program for the information system, systemcomponent, or information system service.
Supplemental Guidance: Anti-tamper technologies and techniques provide a level of protection for criticalinformation systems, system components, and information technology products against a number of related
threats including modification, reverse engineering, and substitution. Strong identification combined with
tamper resistance and/or tamper detection is essential to protecting information systems, components, andproducts during distribution and when in use. Related controls: PE-3, SA-12, SI-7.
SA-18 (1)

TAMPER RESISTANCE AND DETECTION | MULTIPLE PHASES OF SDLC

[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization employs anti-tamper technologies and techniques during multiple phases in thesystem development life cycle including design, development, integration, operations, andmaintenance.
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations use a combination of hardware and software techniques fortamper resistance and detection. Organizations employ obfuscation and self-checking, for example, tomake reverse engineering and modifications more difficult, time-consuming, and expensive foradversaries. Customization of information systems and system components can make substitutions
easier to detect and therefore limit damage. Related control: SA-3.
SA-18 (2)APPENDIX B

TAMPER RESISTANCE AND DETECTION | INSPECTION OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS,COMPONENTS, OR DEVICES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]PAGE B-84

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________The organization inspects [Assignment: organization-defined information systems, systemcomponents, or devices] [Selection (one or more): at random; at [Assignment: organization-defined
frequency], upon [Assignment: organization-defined indications of need for inspection]] to detect
tampering.
Supplemental Guidance: This control enhancement addresses both physical and logical tampering and istypically applied to mobile devices, notebook computers, or other system components taken out oforganization-controlled areas. Indications of need for inspection include, for example, when
individuals return from travel to high-risk locations. Related control: SI-4.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P0

SA-19

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

COMPONENT AUTHENTICITYHIGH Not Selected[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Develops and implements anti-counterfeit policy and procedures that include the means to detect andprevent counterfeit components from entering the information system; andb.

Reports counterfeit information system components to [Selection (one or more): source of counterfeit
component; [Assignment: organization-defined external reporting organizations]; [Assignment:
organization-defined personnel or roles]].

Supplemental Guidance: Sources of counterfeit components include, for example, manufacturers, developers,

vendors, and contractors. Anti-counterfeiting policy and procedures support tamper resistance and provide
a level of protection against the introduction of malicious code. External reporting organizations include,for example, US-CERT. Related controls: PE-3, SA-12, SI-7.
SA-19 (1)COMPONENT AUTHENTICITY | ANTI-COUNTERFEIT TRAINING[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization trains [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles] to detect
counterfeit information system components (including hardware, software, and firmware).
SA-19 (2)COMPONENT AUTHENTICITY | CONFIGURATION CONTROL FOR COMPONENTSERVICE / REPAIR[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization maintains configuration control over [Assignment: organization-defined
information system components] awaiting service/repair and serviced/repaired components
awaiting return to service.
SA-19 (3)COMPONENT AUTHENTICITY | COMPONENT DISPOSAL[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization disposes of information system components using [Assignment: organizationdefined techniques and methods].
Supplemental Guidance: Proper disposal of information system components helps to prevent suchcomponents from entering the gray market.
SA-19 (4)COMPONENT AUTHENTICITY | ANTI-COUNTERFEIT SCANNING[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization scans for counterfeit information system components [Assignment:
organization-defined frequency].
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:

APPENDIX B

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
P0

SA-20

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

CUSTOMIZED DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICAL COMPONENTSHIGH Not Selected[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization re-implements or custom develops [Assignment: organization-defined criticalinformation system components].
Supplemental Guidance: Organizations determine that certain information system components likely cannot

be trusted due to specific threats to and vulnerabilities in those components, and for which there are no
viable security controls to adequately mitigate the resulting risk. Re-implementation or custom
development of such components helps to satisfy requirements for higher assurance. This is accomplishedby initiating changes to system components (including hardware, software, and firmware) such that thestandard attacks by adversaries are less likely to succeed. In situations where no alternative sourcing isavailable and organizations choose not to re-implement or custom develop critical information systemcomponents, additional safeguards can be employed (e.g., enhanced auditing, restrictions on source codeand system utility access, and protection from deletion of system and application files. Related controls:
CP-2, SA-8, SA-14.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P0

SA-21

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

DEVELOPER SCREENING

HIGH Not Selected[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization requires that the developer of [Assignment: organization-defined information

system, system component, or information system service]:a.

Have appropriate access authorizations as determined by assigned [Assignment: organization-defined
official government duties]; andb.

Satisfy [Assignment: organization-defined additional personnel screening criteria].

Supplemental Guidance: Because the information system, system component, or information system service

may be employed in critical activities essential to the national and/or economic security interests of theUnited States, organizations have a strong interest in ensuring that the developer is trustworthy. The degreeof trust required of the developer may need to be consistent with that of the individuals accessing theinformation system/component/service once deployed. Examples of authorization and personnel screening
criteria include clearance, satisfactory background checks, citizenship, and nationality. Trustworthiness ofdevelopers may also include a review and analysis of company ownership and any relationships thecompany has with entities potentially affecting the quality/reliability of the systems, components, orservices being developed. Related controls: PS-3, PS-7.
SA-21 (1)DEVELOPER SCREENING | VALIDATION OF SCREENING[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization requires the developer of the information system, system component, or
information system service take [Assignment: organization-defined actions] to ensure that therequired access authorizations and screening criteria are satisfied.
Supplemental Guidance: Satisfying required access authorizations and personnel screening criteria
includes, for example, providing a listing of all the individuals authorized to perform development
activities on the selected information system, system component, or information system service so thatorganizations can validate that the developer has satisfied the necessary authorization and screening
requirements.
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P0

SA-22

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

UNSUPPORTED SYSTEM COMPONENTSHIGH Not Selected[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Replaces information system components when support for the components is no longer available fromthe developer, vendor, or manufacturer; andb.

Provides justification and documents approval for the continued use of unsupported systemcomponents required to satisfy mission/business needs.

Supplemental Guidance: Support for information system components includes, for example, software
patches, firmware updates, replacement parts, and maintenance contracts. Unsupported components (e.g.,when vendors are no longer providing critical software patches), provide a substantial opportunity foradversaries to exploit new weaknesses discovered in the currently installed components. Exceptions toreplacing unsupported system components may include, for example, systems that provide criticalmission/business capability where newer technologies are not available or where the systems are so isolated
that installing replacement components is not an option. Related controls: PL-2, SA-3.
Control Enhancements:
SA-22 (1)

UNSUPPORTED SYSTEM COMPONENTS | ALTERNATIVE SOURCES FORCONTINUED SUPPORT[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization provides [Selection (one or more): in-house support; [Assignment: organizationdefined support from external providers]] for unsupported information system components.
Supplemental Guidance: This control enhancement addresses the need to provide continued support for
selected information system components that are no longer supported by the original developers,
vendors, or manufacturers when such components remain essential to mission/business operations.
Organizations can establish in-house support, for example, by developing customized patches forcritical software components or secure the services of external providers who through contractual
relationships, provide ongoing support for the designated unsupported components. Such contractual
relationships can include, for example, Open Source Software value-added vendors.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P0

APPENDIX B

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

HIGH Not Selected

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Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTION
SC-1

SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTION POLICY AND PROCEDURES [BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]
Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops, documents, and disseminates to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]:1.

A system and communications protection policy that addresses purpose, scope, roles,
responsibilities, management commitment, coordination among organizational entities, andcompliance; and2.

Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the system and communications protection policy
and associated system and communications protection controls; andReviews and updates the current:
1.

System and communications protection policy [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; and2.

System and communications protection procedures [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the establishment of policy and procedures for the effective

implementation of selected security controls and control enhancements in the SC family. Policy andprocedures reflect applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards,
and guidance. Security program policies and procedures at the organization level may make the need forsystem-specific policies and procedures unnecessary. The policy can be included as part of the general
information security policy for organizations or conversely, can be represented by multiple policies
reflecting the complex nature of certain organizations. The procedures can be established for the security
program in general and for particular information systems, if needed. The organizational risk management
strategy is a key factor in establishing policy and procedures. Related control: PM-9.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-12, 800-100.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

SC-4

LOW SC-1

MOD SC-1

INFORMATION IN SHARED RESOURCESHIGH SC-1[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The information system prevents unauthorized and unintended information transfer via sharedsystem resources.
Supplemental Guidance: This control prevents information, including encrypted representations of

information, produced by the actions of prior users/roles (or the actions of processes acting on behalf ofprior users/roles) from being available to any current users/roles (or current processes) that obtain access toshared system resources (e.g., registers, main memory, hard disks) after those resources have been releasedback to information systems. The control of information in shared resources is also commonly referred toas object reuse and residual information protection. This control does not address: (i) information
remanence which refers to residual representation of data that has been nominally erased or removed; (ii)covert channels (including storage and/or timing channels) where shared resources are manipulated toviolate information flow restrictions; or (iii) components within information systems for which there are
only single users/roles. Related controls: AC-3, AC-4, MP-6.

References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

APPENDIX B

LOW Not Selected

MOD SC-4

HIGH SC-4

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Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________SC-5[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]DENIAL OF SERVICE PROTECTION

Control: The information system protects against or limits the effects of the following types of denial ofservice attacks: [Assignment: organization-defined types of denial of service attacks or reference to source
for such information] by employing [Assignment: organization-defined security safeguards].
Supplemental Guidance: A variety of technologies exist to limit, or in some cases, eliminate the effects ofdenial of service attacks. For example, boundary protection devices can filter certain types of packets toprotect information system components on internal organizational networks from being directly affected bydenial of service attacks. Employing increased capacity and bandwidth combined with service redundancy
may also reduce the susceptibility to denial of service attacks. Related controls: SC-6, SC-7.
Control Enhancements:
SC-5 (2)DENIAL OF SERVICE PROTECTION | EXCESS CAPACITY / BANDWIDTH /REDUNDANCY[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The information system manages excess capacity, bandwidth, or other redundancy to limit theeffects of information flooding denial of service attacks.
Supplemental Guidance: Managing excess capacity ensures that sufficient capacity is available to counterflooding attacks. Managing excess capacity may include, for example, establishing selected usage
priorities, quotas, or partitioning.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

SC-7

LOW SC-5

BOUNDARY PROTECTION

MOD SC-5

HIGH SC-5[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The information system:a.

Monitors and controls communications at the external boundary of the system and at key internalboundaries within the system;b.

Implements subnetworks for publicly accessible system components that are [Selection: physically;
logically] separated from internal organizational networks; andc.

Connects to external networks or information systems only through managed interfaces consisting ofboundary protection devices arranged in accordance with an organizational security architecture.

Supplemental Guidance: Managed interfaces include, for example, gateways, routers, firewalls, guards,

network-based malicious code analysis and virtualization systems, or encrypted tunnels implemented
within a security architecture (e.g., routers protecting firewalls or application gateways residing onprotected subnetworks). Subnetworks that are physically or logically separated from internal networks arereferred to as demilitarized zones or DMZs. Restricting or prohibiting interfaces within organizational
information systems includes, for example, restricting external web traffic to designated web servers withinmanaged interfaces and prohibiting external traffic that appears to be spoofing internal addresses.
Organizations consider the shared nature of commercial telecommunications services in the implementationof security controls associated with the use of such services. Commercial telecommunications services arecommonly based on network components and consolidated management systems shared by all attachedcommercial customers, and may also include third party-provided access lines and other service elements.

APPENDIX B

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________Such transmission services may represent sources of increased risk despite contract security provisions.
Related controls: AC-4, AC-17, CA-3, CM-7, CP-8, IR-4, RA-3, SC-5, SC-13.
SC-7 (13)BOUNDARY PROTECTION | ISOLATION OF SECURITY TOOLS / MECHANISMS /SUPPORT COMPONENTS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization isolates [Assignment: organization-defined information security tools,
mechanisms, and support components] from other internal information system components byimplementing physically separate subnetworks with managed interfaces to other components ofthe system.
Supplemental Guidance: Physically separate subnetworks with managed interfaces are useful, forexample, in isolating computer network defenses from critical operational processing networks toprevent adversaries from discovering the analysis and forensics techniques of organizations. Related
controls: SA-8, SC-2, SC-3.
SC-7 (19)

BOUNDARY PROTECTION | BLOCKS COMMUNICATION FROM NONORGANIZATIONALLY CONFIGURED HOSTS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The information system blocks both inbound and outbound communications traffic between[Assignment: organization-defined communication clients] that are independently configured by
end users and external service providers.
Supplemental Guidance: Communication clients independently configured by end users and external

service providers include, for example, instant messaging clients. Traffic blocking does not apply tocommunication clients that are configured by organizations to perform authorized functions.
References: FIPS Publication 199; NIST Special Publications 800-41, 800-77.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

SC-8

LOW SC-7

MOD SC-7 (3) (4) (5) (7)TRANSMISSION CONFIDENTIALITY AND INTEGRITYHIGH SC-7 (3) (4) (5) (7) (8) (18) (21)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The information system protects the [Selection (one or more): confidentiality; integrity] oftransmitted information.
Supplemental Guidance: This control applies to both internal and external networks and all types of

information system components from which information can be transmitted (e.g., servers, mobile devices,notebook computers, printers, copiers, scanners, facsimile machines). Communication paths outside thephysical protection of a controlled boundary are exposed to the possibility of interception and modification.
Protecting the confidentiality and/or integrity of organizational information can be accomplished byphysical means (e.g., by employing physical distribution systems) or by logical means (e.g., employing
encryption techniques). Organizations relying on commercial providers offering transmission services ascommodity services rather than as fully dedicated services (i.e., services which can be highly specialized toindividual customer needs), may find it difficult to obtain the necessary assurances regarding theimplementation of needed security controls for transmission confidentiality/integrity. In such situations,organizations determine what types of confidentiality/integrity services are available in standard,commercial telecommunication service packages. If it is infeasible or impractical to obtain the necessary
security controls and assurances of control effectiveness through appropriate contracting vehicles,organizations implement appropriate compensating security controls or explicitly accept the additional risk.
Related controls: AC-17, PE-4.

APPENDIX B

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Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
References: FIPS Publications 140-2, 197; NIST Special Publications 800-52, 800-77, 800-81, 800-113;

CNSS Policy 15; NSTISSI No. 7003.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

SC-18

LOW Not Selected

MOD SC-8 (1)MOBILE CODE

HIGH SC-8 (1)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Defines acceptable and unacceptable mobile code and mobile code technologies;b.

Establishes usage restrictions and implementation guidance for acceptable mobile code and mobile
code technologies; andc.

Authorizes, monitors, and controls the use of mobile code within the information system.

Supplemental Guidance: Decisions regarding the employment of mobile code within organizational

information systems are based on the potential for the code to cause damage to the systems if used
maliciously. Mobile code technologies include, for example, Java, JavaScript, ActiveX, Postscript, PDF,
Shockwave movies, Flash animations, and VBScript. Usage restrictions and implementation guidance
apply to both the selection and use of mobile code installed on servers and mobile code downloaded andexecuted on individual workstations and devices (e.g., smart phones). Mobile code policy and procedures
address preventing the development, acquisition, or introduction of unacceptable mobile code withinorganizational information systems. Related controls: AU-2, AU-12, CM-2, CM-6, SI-3.
SC-18 (2)

MOBILE CODE | ACQUISITION / DEVELOPMENT / USE[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization ensures that the acquisition, development, and use of mobile code to be
deployed in the information system meets [Assignment: organization-defined mobile code
requirements].
References: NIST Special Publication 800-28; DoD Instruction 8552.01.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P2

SC-27

LOW Not Selected

MOD SC-18

PLATFORM-INDEPENDENT APPLICATIONSHIGH SC-18[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The information system includes: [Assignment: organization-defined platform-independent

applications].
Supplemental Guidance: Platforms are combinations of hardware and software used to run software

applications. Platforms include: (i) operating systems; (ii) the underlying computer architectures, or (iii)both. Platform-independent applications are applications that run on multiple platforms. Such applications
promote portability and reconstitution on different platforms, increasing the availability of critical functions
within organizations while information systems with specific operating systems are under attack. Related
control: SC-29.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P0

APPENDIX B

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

HIGH Not Selected

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SC-28

PROTECTION OF INFORMATION AT REST[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The information system protects the [Selection (one or more): confidentiality; integrity] of[Assignment: organization-defined information at rest].
Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the confidentiality and integrity of information at rest andcovers user information and system information. Information at rest refers to the state of information when
it is located on storage devices as specific components of information systems. System-related information
requiring protection includes, for example, configurations or rule sets for firewalls, gateways, intrusion
detection/prevention systems, filtering routers, and authenticator content. Organizations may employ
different mechanisms to achieve confidentiality and integrity protections, including the use of
cryptographic mechanisms and file share scanning. Integrity protection can be achieved, for example, byimplementing Write-Once-Read-Many (WORM) technologies. Organizations may also employ othersecurity controls including, for example, secure off-line storage in lieu of online storage when adequate
protection of information at rest cannot otherwise be achieved and/or continuous monitoring to identify
malicious code at rest. Related controls: AC-3, AC-6, CA-7, CM-3, CM-5, CM-6, PE-3, SC-8, SC-13, SI-3,
SI-7.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-56, 800-57, 800-111.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

SC-29

LOW Not Selected

MOD SC-28

HETEROGENEITY

HIGH SC-28[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization employs a diverse set of information technologies for [Assignment: organization-

defined information system components] in the implementation of the information system.
Supplemental Guidance: Increasing the diversity of information technologies within organizational

information systems reduces the impact of potential exploitations of specific technologies and also defends
against common mode failures, including those failures induced by supply chain attacks. Diversity in
information technologies also reduces the likelihood that the means adversaries use to compromise one
information system component will be equally effective against other system components, thus further
increasing the adversary work factor to successfully complete planned cyber attacks. An increase indiversity may add complexity and management overhead which could ultimately lead to mistakes andunauthorized configurations. Related controls: SA-12, SA-14, SC-27.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P0

SC-30

LOW Not Selected

CONCEALMENT AND MISDIRECTION

MOD Not Selected

HIGH Not Selected[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization employs [Assignment: organization-defined concealment and misdirection

techniques] for [Assignment: organization-defined information systems] at [Assignment: organizationdefined time periods] to confuse and mislead adversaries.
Supplemental Guidance: Concealment and misdirection techniques can significantly reduce the targeting

capability of adversaries (i.e., window of opportunity and available attack surface) to initiate and complete
cyber attacks. For example, virtualization techniques provide organizations with the ability to disguise
information systems, potentially reducing the likelihood of successful attacks without the cost of having
multiple platforms. Increased use of concealment/misdirection techniques including, for example,
randomness, uncertainty, and virtualization, may sufficiently confuse and mislead adversaries andsubsequently increase the risk of discovery and/or exposing tradecraft. Concealment/misdirection
APPENDIX B

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

techniques may also provide organizations additional time to successfully perform core missions andbusiness functions. Because of the time and effort required to support concealment/misdirection techniques,
it is anticipated that such techniques would be used by organizations on a very limited basis. Related
controls: SC-26, SC-29, SI-14.
SC-30 (2)

CONCEALMENT AND MISDIRECTION | RANDOMNESS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization employs [Assignment: organization-defined techniques] to introduce
randomness into organizational operations and assets.
Supplemental Guidance: Randomness introduces increased levels of uncertainty for adversaries regarding
the actions organizations take in defending against cyber attacks. Such actions may impede the abilityof adversaries to correctly target information resources of organizations supporting criticalmissions/business functions. Uncertainty may also cause adversaries to hesitate before initiating or
continuing attacks. Misdirection techniques involving randomness include, for example, performing
certain routine actions at different times of day, employing different information technologies (e.g.,browsers, search engines), using different suppliers, and rotating roles and responsibilities oforganizational personnel.
SC-30 (3)

CONCEALMENT AND MISDIRECTION | CHANGE PROCESSING / STORAGE
LOCATIONS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization changes the location of [Assignment: organization-defined processing and/or
storage] [Selection: [Assignment: organization-defined time frequency]; at random time intervals]].
Supplemental Guidance: Adversaries target critical organizational missions/business functions and theinformation resources supporting those missions and functions while at the same time, trying tominimize exposure of their existence and tradecraft. The static, homogeneous, and deterministic natureof organizational information systems targeted by adversaries, make such systems more susceptible tocyber attacks with less adversary cost and effort to be successful. Changing organizational processing
and storage locations (sometimes referred to as moving target defense) addresses the advanced
persistent threat (APT) using techniques such as virtualization, distributed processing, and replication.
This enables organizations to relocate the information resources (i.e., processing and/or storage)
supporting critical missions and business functions. Changing locations of processing activities and/or
storage sites introduces uncertainty into the targeting activities by adversaries. This uncertainty
increases the work factor of adversaries making compromises or breaches to organizational
information systems much more difficult and time-consuming, and increases the chances thatadversaries may inadvertently disclose aspects of tradecraft while attempting to locate criticalorganizational resources.
SC-30 (4)CONCEALMENT AND MISDIRECTION | MISLEADING INFORMATION[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization employs realistic, but misleading information in [Assignment: organizationdefined information system components] with regard to its security state or posture.
Supplemental Guidance: This control enhancement misleads potential adversaries regarding the natureand extent of security safeguards deployed by organizations. As a result, adversaries may employ
incorrect (and as a result ineffective) attack techniques. One way of misleading adversaries is fororganizations to place misleading information regarding the specific security controls deployed inexternal information systems that are known to be accessed or targeted by adversaries. Anothertechnique is the use of deception nets (e.g., honeynets, virtualized environments) that mimic actual
aspects of organizational information systems but use, for example, out-of-date software
configurations.
SC-30 (5)

CONCEALMENT AND MISDIRECTION | CONCEALMENT OF SYSTEMCOMPONENTS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization employs [Assignment: organization-defined techniques] to hide or conceal[Assignment: organization-defined information system components].
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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Supplemental Guidance: By hiding, disguising, or otherwise concealing critical information systemcomponents, organizations may be able to decrease the probability that adversaries target andsuccessfully compromise those assets. Potential means for organizations to hide and/or conceal
information system components include, for example, configuration of routers or the use of honeynets
or virtualization techniques.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P0

SC-36

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

DISTRIBUTED PROCESSING AND STORAGE

HIGH Not Selected[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization distributes [Assignment: organization-defined processing and storage] acrossmultiple physical locations.
Supplemental Guidance: Distributing processing and storage across multiple physical locations provides somedegree of redundancy or overlap for organizations, and therefore increases the work factor of adversaries toadversely impact organizational operations, assets, and individuals. This control does not assume a single
primary processing or storage location, and thus allows for parallel processing and storage. Related
controls: CP-6, CP-7.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P0

SC-37

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

OUT-OF-BAND CHANNELSHIGH Not Selected[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization employs [Assignment: organization-defined out-of-band channels] for thephysical delivery or electronic transmission of [Assignment: organization-defined information, information
system components, or devices] to [Assignment: organization-defined individuals or information systems].
Supplemental Guidance: Out-of-band channels include, for example, local (nonnetwork) accesses toinformation systems, network paths physically separate from network paths used for operational traffic, or
nonelectronic paths such as the US Postal Service. This is in contrast with using the same channels (i.e., inband channels) that carry routine operational traffic. Out-of-band channels do not have the same
vulnerability/exposure as in-band channels, and hence the confidentiality, integrity, or availability
compromises of in-band channels will not compromise the out-of-band channels. Organizations may
employ out-of-band channels in the delivery or transmission of many organizational items including, forexample, identifiers/authenticators, configuration management changes for hardware, firmware, orsoftware, cryptographic key management information, security updates, system/data backups, maintenanceinformation, and malicious code protection updates. Related controls: AC-2, CM-3, CM-5, CM-7, IA-4,
IA-5, MA-4, SC-12, SI-3, SI-4, SI-7.
SC-37 (1)OUT-OF-BAND CHANNELS | ENSURE DELIVERY / TRANSMISSION[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization employs [Assignment: organization-defined security safeguards] to ensure that
only [Assignment: organization-defined individuals or information systems] receive the[Assignment: organization-defined information, information system components, or devices].
Supplemental Guidance: Techniques and/or methods employed by organizations to ensure that only
designated information systems or individuals receive particular information, system components, or
devices include, for example, sending authenticators via courier service but requiring recipients toshow some form of government-issued photographic identification as a condition of receipt.
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References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P0

SC-38

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

OPERATIONS SECURITY

HIGH Not Selected[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization employs [Assignment: organization-defined operations security safeguards] toprotect key organizational information throughout the system development life cycle.
Supplemental Guidance: Operations security (OPSEC) is a systematic process by which potential adversaries

can be denied information about the capabilities and intentions of organizations by identifying, controlling,
and protecting generally unclassified information that specifically relates to the planning and execution ofsensitive organizational activities. The OPSEC process involves five steps: (i) identification of criticalinformation (e.g., the security categorization process); (ii) analysis of threats; (iii) analysis ofvulnerabilities; (iv) assessment of risks; and (v) the application of appropriate countermeasures. OPSEC
safeguards are applied to both organizational information systems and the environments in which thosesystems operate. OPSEC safeguards help to protect the confidentiality of key information including, forexample, limiting the sharing of information with suppliers and potential suppliers of information systemcomponents, information technology products and services, and with other non-organizational elements andindividuals. Information critical to mission/business success includes, for example, user identities, element
uses, suppliers, supply chain processes, functional and security requirements, system design specifications,
testing protocols, and security control implementation details. Related controls: RA-2, RA-5, SA-12.
Control Enhancements: None.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P0

APPENDIX B

LOW Not Selected

MOD Not Selected

HIGH Not Selected

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________FAMILY: SYSTEM AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY
SI-1

SYSTEM AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY POLICY AND PROCEDURES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

b.

Develops, documents, and disseminates to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]:1.

A system and information integrity policy that addresses purpose, scope, roles, responsibilities,
management commitment, coordination among organizational entities, and compliance; and2.

Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the system and information integrity policy andassociated system and information integrity controls; andReviews and updates the current:
1.

System and information integrity policy [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; and2.

System and information integrity procedures [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].

Supplemental Guidance: This control addresses the establishment of policy and procedures for the effective

implementation of selected security controls and control enhancements in the SI family. Policy andprocedures reflect applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards,
and guidance. Security program policies and procedures at the organization level may make the need forsystem-specific policies and procedures unnecessary. The policy can be included as part of the general
information security policy for organizations or conversely, can be represented by multiple policies
reflecting the complex nature of certain organizations. The procedures can be established for the security
program in general and for particular information systems, if needed. The organizational risk management
strategy is a key factor in establishing policy and procedures. Related control: PM-9.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-12, 800-100.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

SI-2

LOW SI-1

MOD SI-1

FLAW REMEDIATIONHIGH SI-1[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Identifies, reports, and corrects information system flaws;b.

Tests software and firmware updates related to flaw remediation for effectiveness and potential side
effects before installation;c.

Installs security-relevant software and firmware updates within [Assignment: organization-definedtime period] of the release of the updates; andd.

Incorporates flaw remediation into the organizational configuration management process.

Supplemental Guidance: Organizations identify information systems affected by announced software flaws

including potential vulnerabilities resulting from those flaws, and report this information to designatedorganizational personnel with information security responsibilities. Security-relevant software updates
include, for example, patches, service packs, hot fixes, and anti-virus signatures. Organizations also address
flaws discovered during security assessments, continuous monitoring, incident response activities, andsystem error handling. Organizations take advantage of available resources such as the Common Weakness
Enumeration (CWE) or Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) databases in remediating flaws
discovered in organizational information systems. By incorporating flaw remediation into ongoing
configuration management processes, required/anticipated remediation actions can be tracked and verified.
Flaw remediation actions that can be tracked and verified include, for example, determining whether
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organizations follow US-CERT guidance and Information Assurance Vulnerability Alerts. Organizationdefined time periods for updating security-relevant software and firmware may vary based on a variety offactors including, for example, the security category of the information system or the criticality of the
update (i.e., severity of the vulnerability related to the discovered flaw). Some types of flaw remediation
may require more testing than other types. Organizations determine the degree and type of testing needed
for the specific type of flaw remediation activity under consideration and also the types of changes that are
to be configuration-managed. In some situations, organizations may determine that the testing of software
and/or firmware updates is not necessary or practical, for example, when implementing simple anti-virus
signature updates. Organizations may also consider in testing decisions, whether security-relevant softwareor firmware updates are obtained from authorized sources with appropriate digital signatures. Relate
control: CA-2, CA-7, CM-3, CM-5, CM-8, MA-2, IR-4, RA-5, SA-10, SA-11, SI-11.
SI-2(5)FLAW REMEDIATION | AUTOMATIC SOFTWARE / FIRMWARE UPDATES[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization installs [Assignment: organization-defined security-relevant software andfirmware updates] automatically to [Assignment: organization-defined information systemcomponents].
Supplemental Guidance: Due to information system integrity and availability concerns, organizations

give careful consideration to the methodology used to carry out automatic updates. Organizations must
balance the need to ensure that the updates are installed as soon as possible with the need to maintainconfiguration management and with any mission or operational impacts that automatic updates might
impose.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-40, 800-128.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

SI-4

LOW SI-2

MOD SI-2 (2)INFORMATION SYSTEM MONITORINGHIGH SI-2 (1) (2)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Monitors the information system to detect:
1.

Attacks and indicators of potential attacks in accordance with [Assignment: organization-definedmonitoring objectives]; and2.

Unauthorized local, network, and remote connections;b.

Identifies unauthorized use of the information system through [Assignment: organization-definedtechniques and methods];c.

Deploys monitoring devices: (i) strategically within the information system to collect organizationdetermined essential information; and (ii) at ad hoc locations within the system to track specific typesof transactions of interest to the organization;d.

Protects information obtained from intrusion-monitoring tools from unauthorized access, modification,and deletion;e.

Heightens the level of information system monitoring activity whenever there is an indication ofincreased risk to organizational operations and assets, individuals, other organizations, or the Nation
based on law enforcement information, intelligence information, or other credible sources of
information;f.

Obtains legal opinion with regard to information system monitoring activities in accordance withapplicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, or regulations; and

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g.

Provides [Assignment: organization-defined information system monitoring information] to[Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles] [Selection (one or more): as needed;[Assignment: organization-defined frequency]].

Supplemental Guidance: Information system monitoring includes external and internal monitoring. Externalmonitoring includes the observation of events occurring at the information system boundary (i.e., part ofperimeter defense and boundary protection). Internal monitoring includes the observation of eventsoccurring within the information system. Organizations can monitor information systems, for example, byobserving audit activities in real time or by observing other system aspects such as access patterns,
characteristics of access, and other actions. The monitoring objectives may guide determination of theevents. Information system monitoring capability is achieved through a variety of tools and techniques(e.g., intrusion detection systems, intrusion prevention systems, malicious code protection software,scanning tools, audit record monitoring software, network monitoring software). Strategic locations formonitoring devices include, for example, selected perimeter locations and near server farms supporting
critical applications, with such devices typically being employed at the managed interfaces associated with
controls SC-7 and AC-17. Einstein network monitoring devices from the Department of Homeland Security
can also be included as monitoring devices. The granularity of monitoring information collected is based onorganizational monitoring objectives and the capability of information systems to support such objectives.
Specific types of transactions of interest include, for example, Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) trafficthat bypasses HTTP proxies. Information system monitoring is an integral part of organizational continuous
monitoring and incident response programs. Output from system monitoring serves as input to continuous
monitoring and incident response programs. A network connection is any connection with a device that
communicates through a network (e.g., local area network, Internet). A remote connection is any
connection with a device communicating through an external network (e.g., the Internet). Local, network,and remote connections can be either wired or wireless. Relate control: AC-3, AC-4, AC-8, AC-17, AU-2,
AU-6, AU-7, AU-9, AU-12, CA-7, IR-4, PE-3, RA-5, SC-7, SC-26, SC-35, SI-3, SI-7.
SI-4 (17)

INFORMATION SYSTEM MONITORING | INTEGRATED SITUATIONAL AWARENESS[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization correlates information from monitoring physical, cyber, and supply chain
activities to achieve integrated, organization-wide situational awareness.
Supplemental Guidance: This control enhancement correlates monitoring information from a morediverse set of information sources to achieve integrated situational awareness. Integrated situationalawareness from a combination of physical, cyber, and supply chain monitoring activities enhances thecapability of organizations to more quickly detect sophisticated cyber attacks and investigate themethods and techniques employed to carry out such attacks. In contrast to SI-4 (16) which correlates
the various cyber monitoring information, this control enhancement correlates monitoring beyond justthe cyber domain. Such monitoring may help reveal attacks on organizations that are operating acrossmultiple attack vectors. Related control: SA-12.
SI-4 (19)

INFORMATION SYSTEM MONITORING | INDIVIDUALS POSING GREATER RISK [BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization implements [Assignment: organization-defined additional monitoring] ofindividuals who have been identified by [Assignment: organization-defined sources] as posing an
increased level of risk.
Supplemental Guidance: Indications of increased risk from individuals can be obtained from a variety
of sources including, for example, human resource records, intelligence agencies, law enforcement
organizations, and/or other credible sources. The monitoring of individuals is closely coordinated withmanagement, legal, security, and human resources officials within organizations conducting suchmonitoring and complies with federal legislation, Executive Orders, policies, directives, regulations,and standards.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-61, 800-83, 800-92, 800-94, 800-137.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:

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P1

SI-5

LOW SI-4

MOD SI-4 (2) (4) (5)SECURITY ALERTS, ADVISORIES, AND DIRECTIVESHIGH SI-4 (2) (4) (5)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization:a.

Receives information system security alerts, advisories, and directives from [Assignment:
organization-defined external organizations] on an ongoing basis;b.

Generates internal security alerts, advisories, and directives as deemed necessary;c.

Disseminates security alerts, advisories, and directives to: [Selection (one or more): [Assignment:
organization-defined personnel or roles]; [Assignment: organization-defined elements within theorganization]; [Assignment: organization-defined external organizations]]; andd.

Implements security directives in accordance with established time frames, or notifies the issuingorganization of the degree of noncompliance.

Supplemental Guidance: The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) generates

security alerts and advisories to maintain situational awareness across the federal government. Security
directives are issued by OMB or other designated organizations with the responsibility and authority toissue such directives. Compliance to security directives is essential due to the critical nature of many ofthese directives and the potential immediate adverse effects on organizational operations and assets,
individuals, other organizations, and the Nation should the directives not be implemented in a timely
manner. External organizations include, for example, external mission/business partners, supply chain
partners, external service providers, and other peer/supporting organizations. Related control: SI-2.
References: NIST Special Publication 800-40.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

SI-7

LOW SI-5

MOD SI-5

SOFTWARE, FIRMWARE, AND INFORMATION INTEGRITYHIGH SI-5 (1)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization employs integrity verification tools to detect unauthorized changes to[Assignment: organization-defined software, firmware, and information].
Supplemental Guidance: Unauthorized changes to software, firmware, and information can occur due to errors

or malicious activity (e.g., tampering). Software includes, for example, operating systems (with key internal
components such as kernels, drivers), middleware, and applications. Firmware includes, for example, theBasic Input Output System (BIOS). Information includes metadata such as security attributes associatedwith information. State-of-the-practice integrity-checking mechanisms (e.g., parity checks, cyclical
redundancy checks, cryptographic hashes) and associated tools can automatically monitor the integrity of
information systems and hosted applications. Related controls: SA-12, SC-8, SC-13, SI-3.
SI-7 (14)SOFTWARE, FIRMWARE, AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY | BINARY OR MACHINEEXECUTABLE CODE
[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The organization:

APPENDIX B(a)Prohibits the use of binary or machine-executable code from sources with limited or no
warranty and without the provision of source code; and(b)

Provides exceptions to the source code requirement only for compelling mission/operational
requirements and with the approval of the authorizing official.

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Supplemental Guidance: This control enhancement applies to all sources of binary or machine-executablecode including, for example, commercial off-the-shelf software/firmware. Organizations assess
software products without accompanying source code from sources with limited or no warranty forpotential security impacts. The assessments address the fact that these types of software products may
be very difficult to review, repair, or extend, given that organizations, in most cases, do not haveaccess to the original source code, and there may be no owners who could make such repairs on behalfof organizations. Related control: SA-5.
SI-7 (15)SOFTWARE, FIRMWARE, AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY | CODE
AUTHENTICATION[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

The information system implements cryptographic mechanisms to authenticate [Assignment:
organization-defined software or firmware components] prior to installation.
Supplemental Guidance: Cryptographic authentication includes, for example, verifying that software or

firmware components have been digitally signed using certificates recognized and approved byorganizations. Code signing is an effective method to protect against malicious code.
References: NIST Special Publications 800-147, 800-155.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P1

SI-12

LOW Not Selected

MOD SI-7 (1) (7)

INFORMATION HANDLING AND RETENTIONHIGH SI-7 (1) (2) (5) (7) (14)[BACK TO SCRM CONTROL]

Control: The organization handles and retains information within the information system and information

output from the system in accordance with applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies,
regulations, standards, and operational requirements.
Supplemental Guidance: Information handling and retention requirements cover the full life cycle ofinformation, in some cases extending beyond the disposal of information systems. The National Archives
and Records Administration provides guidance on records retention. Related controls: AC-16, AU-5, AU11, MP-2, MP-4.
References: None.
Priority and Baseline Allocation:
P2

APPENDIX B

LOW SI-12

MOD SI-12

HIGH SI-12

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APPENDIX CICT SUPPLY CHAIN THREAT EVENTSThis appendix provides examples of ICT supply chain threat events. These examples are based on [NISTSP 800-30 Rev. 1], Appendix E, Threat Events. Specifically, Tables E-2, Representative Examples –Adversarial Threat Events, and E-3, Representative Examples – Non-Adversarial Threat Events, wereused to create the two corresponding tables in this document. It should be noted that the threat events in
NIST SP 800-30 Revision 1, Appendix E, are generic threat events for information security rather than for
ICT SCRM. The tables used as source material for this appendix contain 2 columns – Threat Events and
Description.
The generic threats in NIST SP 800-30 Revision 1, Appendix E, are at times quite broad and needed to befurther specified to be ICT supply chain-specific for use in this document. This document lists only thosethreats events that are relevant to ICT supply chain in all or under some circumstances. A comment isincluded in the third column, Comments, to provide the rationale for when the specific threat event isrelevant to the ICT supply chain or relevant under some, but not all, circumstances.
Organizations may use the examples of ICT supply chain threat events provided in this appendix during
threat analysis described in Chapter 2, if appropriate.
Table C-1: Adversarial ICT Supply Chain Threat Events

Threat Events(Characterized by
TTPs)

Description

Comments

Perform reconnaissance and gather information.
Adversary uses malware installed inside the organizational
Perform malwareperimeter to identify targets of opportunity. Because thedirected internalscanning, probing, or observation does not cross thereconnaissance.
perimeter, it is not detected by externally placed intrusion
detection systems.
Craft or create attack tools.

Craft phishing attacks.

Adversary counterfeits communications from alegitimate/trustworthy source to acquire sensitive
information such as usernames, passwords, or SSNs.
Typical attacks occur via email, instant messaging, orcomparable means, commonly directing users to websitesthat appear to be legitimate sites, while actually stealing
the entered information.

Craft attacks
specifically based on
deployed information
technology
environment.

Adversary develops attacks (e.g., crafts targeted malware)that take advantage of adversary knowledge of theorganizational information technology environment.

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Threat Events(Characterized by
TTPs)

Description

Create counterfeit/spoof
website.

Adversary creates duplicates of legitimate websites; whenusers visit a counterfeit site, the site can gather informationor download malware.

Craft counterfeit
certificates.

Adversary counterfeits or compromises a certificate
authority, so that malware or connections will appear
legitimate.

Comments

Create and operate false
Adversary creates false front organizations with thefront organizations toappearance of legitimate suppliers in the critical life cycle
inject malicious
path that then inject corrupted/malicious information
components into thesystem components into the organizational supply chain.
supply chain.
Deliver/insert/install malicious capabilities.
Deliver known malware
Adversary uses common delivery mechanisms (e.g., email)to internal
to install/insert known malware (e.g., malware whoseorganizational
existence is known) into organizational information
information systems
systems.
(e.g., virus via email).
Adversary uses more sophisticated delivery mechanisms
Deliver modified
than email (e.g., web traffic, instant messaging, FTP) tomalware to internaldeliver malware and possibly modifications of known
organizational
malware to gain access to internal organizational
information systems.
information systems.
Deliver targetedmalware for control ofinternal systems andexfiltration of data.

Deliver malware byproviding removable
media.
Insert untargetedmalware into
downloadable software
and/or into commercial
information technology
products.
Insert targeted malware
into organizational
information systems
and information systemcomponents.

APPENDIX C

Adversary installs malware that is specifically designed totake control of internal organizational information
systems, identify sensitive information, exfiltrate theinformation back to adversary, and conceal these actions.
Adversary places removable media (e.g., flash drives)containing malware in locations external to organizational
physical perimeters but where employees are likely to findthe media (e.g., facilities parking lots, exhibits at
conferences attended by employees) and use it onorganizational information systems.
Adversary corrupts or inserts malware into common
freeware, shareware, or commercial information
technology products. Adversary is not targeting specificorganizations, simply looking for entry points into internalorganizational information systems. Note that this isparticularly a concern for mobile applications.
Adversary inserts malware into organizational information
systems and information system components (e.g.,commercial information technology products), specificallytargeted to the hardware, software, and firmware used byorganizations (based on knowledge gained via
reconnaissance).
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Threat Events(Characterized by
TTPs)

Description

Insert specializedmalware into
organizational
information systems
based on system
configurations.

Adversary inserts specialized, non-detectable malware into
organizational information systems based on system
configurations, specifically targeting critical information
system components based on reconnaissance andplacement within organizational information systems.

Insert counterfeit or
tampered hardware into
the supply chain.

Adversary intercepts hardware from legitimate suppliers.
Adversary modifies the hardware or replaces it with faulty
or otherwise modified hardware.

Insert tampered criticalcomponents into
organizational systems.

Adversary replaces, though supply chain, subverted
insider, or some combination thereof, critical information
system components with modified or corrupted
components.

Insert malicious
scanning devices (e.g.,
wireless sniffers) insidefacilities.

Adversary uses postal service or other commercialdelivery services to deliver to organizational mailrooms adevice that is able to scan wireless communications
accessible from within the mailrooms and then wirelesslytransmit information back to adversary.

Insert subverted
individuals into
organizations.

Adversary places individuals within organizations who arewilling and able to carry out actions to cause harm toorganizational missions/business functions.

Insert subverted
individuals into
privileged positions inorganizations.

Adversary places individuals in privileged positions withinorganizations that are willing and able to carry out actions
to cause harm to organizational missions/business
functions. Adversary may target privileged functions togain access to sensitive information (e.g., user accounts,
system files, etc.) and may leverage access to one
privileged capability to get to another capability.

Comments

YES, if theindividual isplaced by an
external party.

Exploit and compromise.

Exploit split tunneling.

APPENDIX C

Adversary takes advantage of external organizational or
personal information systems (e.g., laptop computers at
remote locations) that are simultaneously connected
securely to organizational information systems or networks
and to nonsecure remote connections.

YES, if
information
systems are
thosebelonging toexternalorganization.

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Threat Events(Characterized by
TTPs)
Exploit vulnerabilities
in information systems
timed withorganizational
mission/business
operations tempo.
Exploit insecure or
incomplete datadeletion in multi-tenant
environment.
Violate isolation in
multi-tenant
environment.
Compromise
information systems ordevices used externallyand reintroduced into
the enterprise.
Compromise design,
manufacture, and/or
distribution of
information systemcomponents (including
hardware, software, andfirmware).

Description

Adversary launches attacks on organizations in a time andmanner consistent with organizational needs to conduct
mission/business operations.

YES, if thethreat is to
ICT supply
chain.

Adversary obtains unauthorized information due toinsecure or incomplete data deletion in a multi-tenant
environment (e.g., in a cloud computing environment).
Adversary circumvents or defeats isolation mechanisms ina multi-tenant environment (e.g., in a cloud computing
environment) to observe, corrupt, or deny service to hosted
services and information/data.
Adversary installs malware on information systems ordevices while the systems/devices are external toorganizations for purposes of subsequently infecting
organizations when reconnected.

Adversary compromises the design, manufacture, and/or
distribution of critical information system components atselected suppliers.

Conduct an attack (i.e., direct/coordinate attack tools or activities).
Conduct physicalattacks onAdversary conducts a physical attack on one or more
infrastructures
infrastructures supporting organizational facilities (e.g.,
supporting
breaks a water main, cuts a power line).
organizational facilities.
Adversary places an entity within organizations in order togain access to organizational information systems or
networks for the express purpose of taking control
Conduct internally(hijacking) an already established, legitimate session either
based session hijacking.
between organizations and external entities (e.g., users
connecting from remote locations) or between two
locations within internal networks.

APPENDIX C

Comments

YES, forcritical
systems.

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Threat Events(Characterized by
TTPs)

Description

Comments

Adversary targets and compromises the operation ofsoftware (e.g., through malware injections), firmware, andhardware that performs critical functions for organizations.
This is largely accomplished as supply chain attacks on
both commercial off-the-shelf and custom information
systems and components.
Achieve results (i.e., cause adverse impacts, obtain information)

Conduct supply chain
attacks targeting andexploiting critical
hardware, software, or
firmware.

Cause unauthorized
disclosure and/or
unavailability by
spilling sensitive
information.

Adversary contaminates organizational information
systems (including devices and networks) by causing themto handle information of a classification/sensitivity forwhich they have not been authorized. The information is
exposed to individuals who are not authorized access tosuch information, and the information system, device, or
network is unavailable while the spill is investigated andmitigated.

Obtain information by
externally locatedinterception of wirelessnetwork traffic.

Adversary intercepts organizational communications overwireless networks. Examples include targeting public
wireless access or hotel networking connections, anddrive-by subversion of home or organizational wirelessrouters.

Obtain unauthorizedaccess.

Adversary with authorized access to organizational
information systems, gains access to resources thatexceeds authorization.

Obtain information byAdversary steals information systems or components
opportunistically(e.g., laptop computers or data storage media) that are left
stealing or scavenging
unattended outside of the physical perimeters of
information
organizations, or scavenges discarded components.
systems/components.
Maintain a presence or set of capabilities.
Coordinate campaigns
across multiple
Adversary does not limit planning to the targeting of one
organizations to acquireorganization. Adversary observes multiple organizations to
specific information or
acquire necessary information on targets of interest.
achieve desired
outcome.
Coordinate cyberattacks using external
Adversary employs continuous, coordinated attacks,(outsider), internalpotentially using all three attack vectors for the purpose of(insider), and supply
impeding organizational operations.
chain (supplier) attack
vectors.

APPENDIX C

YES, because
this may berelated to
informationsharing
agreements.

YES, because
this originates
externally.
YES, if anadversary is
not anemployee.

YES, if theseare multiple
organizations
composing
ICT supply
chain.

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Table C-2: Non-Adversarial ICT Supply Chain Threat Events

Threat Event

Spill sensitive
information

Description
Authorized user erroneously contaminates a device,information system, or network by placing on it orsending to it information of a classification/sensitivity,
which it has not been authorized to handle. The
information is exposed to access by unauthorizedindividuals, and as a result, the device, system, or
network is unavailable while the spill is investigated andmitigated.

Mishandling of critical
and/or sensitive
information byauthorized users

Authorized privileged user inadvertently exposes
critical/sensitive information.

Incorrect privilege
settings

Authorized privileged user or administrator erroneously
assigns a user exceptional privileges or sets privilege
requirements on a resource too low.

Resource depletion

Degraded processing performance due to resource
depletion.

Introduction ofvulnerabilities into
software products
Pervasive disk error

APPENDIX C

Comments

YES, if user
is not an
employee.
YES, if user
is not an
employee.
YES, if
physicalresources are
being
depleted.
YES, ifresources ofan external
serviceprovider are
being
depleted.

Due to inherent weaknesses in programming languages
and software development environments, errors andvulnerabilities are introduced into commonly usedsoftware products.
Multiple disk errors due to aging of a set of devices all
acquired at the same time, from the same supplier.

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APPENDIX D

SUPPLY CHAIN THREAT SCENARIOS AND ANALYSIS
FRAMEWORK
There are numerous opportunities for vulnerabilities that impact the environment or the system/element to
be intentionally or unintentionally inserted, created, or exploited throughout the supply chain.
Exploitation of these vulnerabilities is known as supply chain threats. A Threat Scenario is a summaryof potential consequence(s) of the successful exploitation of a specific vulnerability or vulnerabilities
by a threat agent. Analyzing threat scenarios can help organizations to determine the likelihood andimpact a specific event or events would have on an organization and identify appropriate mitigating
strategies.
Threat scenarios are generally used in two ways:

To translate the often disconnected information garnered from a risk assessment, such as
described in [NIST SP 800-30 Rev. 1] , into a more narrowly scoped and tangible, story-likesituation for further evaluation. These stories can help organizations to discover dependencies andadditional vulnerabilities requiring mitigation and used for training; andTo determine the impact that the successful exercise of a specific vulnerability would have on theorganization and identify the benefits of mitigating strategies.

Information garnered from these scenarios can be used to help identify areas requiring increased controls
and also for training purposes. The Threat Scenario analysis may be conducted in conjunction with or as
part of ongoing risk assessment processes. By performing an in-depth analysis of how a specific event
will impact an organization using a threat scenario, critical relationships and dependencies that mightotherwise be overlooked during an initial criticality analysis or risk assessment can become visible andappropriate mitigating strategies employed.
A threat scenario analysis may mimic an organization’s ICT supply chain risk management process, as
described in Chapter 2 of this publication. However, because threat scenarios focus on very specific, often
hypothetical events, they should not be used to replace a holistic ICT supply chain risk assessment.
Rather, they should be used as a tool to further evaluate specific vulnerabilities or areas of concern. They
are often used during the “monitor” phase of the risk management process (described in chapter 2.2.4 ofthis publication) as a means of identifying and evaluating potential changes. Due to the infinite number ofpossible scenarios and directions into which a threat scenario can evolve, it is important to have astructured approach with well-defined goals and scope.
This appendix provides an example of a generic threat scenario analysis framework for ICT SCRM thatcan be used by organizations to develop a framework that best suits their needs. It contains four examples
of how this framework may be used. The examples differ slightly in their implementation of theframework so as to show how the framework may be tailored. Each example identifies one or more
vulnerabilities, describes a specific threat source, identifies the expected impact on the organization, andproposes SP 800-161 SCRM controls that would help mitigate the resulting risk.

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________DEVELOPING AND ANALYZING THREAT SCENARIOS & IDENTIFYINGAPPLICABLE CONTROLS
Step 1: Create a Plan for Developing and Analyzing Scenarios Identify the purpose of the threat scenario analysis in terms of the objectives, milestones, andexpected deliverables; Identify the scope of organizational applicability, level of detail, and other constraints;
 Identify resources to be used, including personnel, time, and equipment; and Define a framework to be used for analyzing scenarios.
Step 2: Characterize the Environment Identify core mission/business processes and key organizational dependencies; Describe threat sources that are relevant to the organization. Include the motivation and resources
available to the threat source, if applicable;
 List known vulnerabilities or areas of concern (Note: Examples of areas of concern include theplanned outsourcing of a manufacturing plant, the pending termination of a maintenance contract,or the discontinued manufacture of an element.);
 Identify existing and planned controls; Identify related regulations, standards, policies, and procedures; and Define an acceptable level of risk (risk threshold) per organizational TTPs, system criticality, anda risk owners set of mission priorities. The level of risk or risk threshold can be constantly
adjusted to reflect the elasticity of the global supply chain, organizational changes, and new
mission priorities.
Step 3: Develop and Select Threat Event(s) for Analysis
 List possible ways threat sources could exploit known vulnerabilities or impact areas of concern
to create a list of events (Note: Historical data is useful in determine this information.); Briefly outline the series of consequences that could occur as a result of each threat event. Thesemay be as broad or specific as necessary. If applicable, estimate the likelihood and impact of each
event;
 Eliminate those events that are clearly outside the defined purpose and scope of the analysis;
 Describe in more detail the remaining threat events. Include the tactics, techniques, andprocedures used to carry out attacks (Note: The level of detail in the description is dependent on
the needs of the organization.); and Select for analysis those events that best fit the defined purpose and scope of the analysis. Morelikely events, events of special concern, and an event that can represent several of the other listed
events are generally useful candidates.
Step 4: Conduct the Threat Scenario Analysis
 For each threat event, note any immediate consequences of the event and identify thoseorganizational units and processes that would be affected, taking into account existing andplanned controls, and applicable regulations, standards, policies, and procedures;
 Estimate the impact these consequences would have on the mission/business processes as well as
the organizational units affected, preferably in quantitative terms from historical data and taking
into account existing and planned controls, and applicable regulations, standards, policies, andprocedures (Note: It may be beneficial to identify a “most likely” impact level and a “worst-case”
or “100-year” impact level.); and Identify those organizational units or processes that would be subsequently affected, theconsequences and the impact levels, until each affected process has been analyzed, taking into
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account existing and planned controls, and applicable regulations, standards, policies, andprocedures (e.g., If a critical server goes down, one of the first processes affected may be thetechnology support department, but if they determine a new part is needed to bring the serverback up, the procurement department may become involved.).
Step 5: Determine Applicable Controls
 Determine if threat scenario events create a risk level that exceeds a risk owner’s acceptable levelof risk (risk threshold). (Note: In some cases, the level of acceptable risk may be dependent on
the cost of mitigating strategies.) Identify potential mitigating controls. Using a list of standard orrecommended controls can make this process simpler. This appendix uses the controls in Chapter
3 of NIST SP 800-161. Furthermore, factoring any available FedRAMP certifications for theorganization and any other applicable recognized external assessments for system integrators,
suppliers, and external service providers in the mitigating control identification process may
eliminate duplicate resources without compromising the effectiveness of the resultant
mitigation.); Estimate the effectiveness of those controls at reducing the risk of a scenario;
 Estimate the resources needed (in terms of money, personnel, time) to implement potential
controls; and Identify those controls or combinations of controls that would cause the estimated residual risk ofa threat event to drop to an acceptable level in the most resource-effective manner, taking into
account any rules or regulations that may apply (Note: Consideration should be given to thepotential that one control will help mitigate the risk from more than one event, or that a control
may increase the risk of a separate event.).
Step 6: Evaluate / Feedback Develop a plan to implement the selected controls and evaluate their effectiveness; and Evaluate the effectiveness of the threat scenario analysis and make improvements as needed.

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Figure D-1: Sample Threat Scenario Analysis Framework

Threat Scenario

Threat Source
Vulnerability
Threat Event
Description
Outcome

Mitigation

Risk

Organizational units/ processes affected
ImpactLikelihood
Risk Score(Impact x
Likelihood)
Acceptable
Level of Risk
Potential
Mitigating
Strategies /SCRM Controls
Estimated
Cost of
Mitigating
Strategies
Change inLikelihood
Change in
ImpactSelected
Strategies
Estimated
Residual Risk

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Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________SAMPLE SCENARIOSThis appendix provides four example threat scenarios specific to the U.S. government using the genericframework described above. The examples purposely vary in level of specificity and detail to show thatthreat scenarios can be as broad or specific, as detailed or generic, as necessary. While these scenarios use
basic scoring measures (High, Moderate, Low) for likelihood, impact, and risk, organizations may use
any of a number of different units of measure (e.g., percentage, CVSS score, etc.). Additionally, thesescenarios vary slightly in implementation of the framework to show that the framework can be adapted asneeded.
SCENARIO 1: Telecommunications Counterfeits

Background:A large organization has developed a system that is maintained through contract by an external
integration company. The system requires a common telecommunications element that is no longer
available from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). The OEM has offered a newer product as areplacement, but it would require modifications to the system at a cost of approximately $1 million. If theelement is not upgraded, the agency and system integrator would have to rely on secondary market
suppliers for replacements. The newer product provides no significant improvement on the element
currently being used.
The organization has decided to perform a threat scenario analysis to determine whether to modify thesystem to accept the new product, or accept the risk of continuing to use a product that is no longer inproduction.

Environment
The environment is characterized as follows: The system is expected to last ten more years without any major upgrades/modifications and has
a 99.9 % uptime requirement.
 Over 1000 of the $200 elements are used throughout the system and approximately 10 % arereplaced every year due to regular wear-and-tear, malfunctions, or other reasons. The integrator
has approximately a three-month supply on hand at any time.
 The element is continuously monitored for functionality, and efficient procedures exist to reroute
traffic and replace the element should it unexpectedly fail.
 Outages resulting from unexpected failure of the element are rare, localized, and last only a few
minutes. More frequently, when an element fails, the system’s functionality is severely reduced
for approximately one-to-four hours while the problem is diagnosed and fixed or the element
replaced.
 Products such as the element in question have been a common target for counterfeiting.
 The integrator has policies restricting the purchase of counterfeit goods and a procedure to follow
if a counterfeit is discovered [Ref. SA-19].
 The integrator and acquiring agency have limited testing procedures to ensure functionality of theelement before acceptance [Ref. SA-12(7)].

Threat Event

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To support the threat scenario, the agency created a fictitious threat source described as a group motivatedby profit with vast experience creating counterfeit solutions. The counterfeiter is able to make a highprofit margin by creating and selling as genuine, products that are visually identical to their genuine
counterparts but which use lower-quality materials. They have the resources to copy most trademark andother identifying characteristics and insert counterfeits into a supply chain commonly used by theorganization with little to no risk of detection. The counterfeit product is appealing to unaware purchasing
authorities as it is generally offered at a discount - sold as excess inventory or as stockpile.
If an inferior quality element was inserted into the system, it would likely fail more often than expected,
causing reduced functionality of the system. In the event a large number of counterfeit products weremixed in with genuine parts and integrated into the system randomly, the number and severity of
unexpected outages could grow significantly. The agency and integrator decided that the chances acounterfeit product could be purchased to maintain the system and the estimated potential impact of suchan event were high enough to warrant further evaluation.

Threat Scenario Analysis
The person(s) purchasing the element from a supplier will be the first affected by a counterfeit product.
Policy dictates that they attempt to purchase a genuine product from vetted suppliers. This person will
have to be led to believe that the product is genuine. As the counterfeit product in question is visually
identical to the element desired, and at a discount, there is a high chance the counterfeit will be purchased.
One will be tested to ensure functionality, and then the items will be placed into storage.
When one of the elements in the system needs to be replaced, an engineer will install a counterfeit,
quickly test to ensure it is running properly, and record the change. It could take two years for thecounterfeit product to fail, so up to 200 counterfeit elements could be inserted into the system before thefirst one fails. If all the regularly replaced elements are substituted for counterfeits and each counterfeit
fails after two years, the cost of the system would increase by $160,000 in ten years. The maintenancetime required would also cost the integration company in personnel and other expenses.
When a counterfeit fails, it will take approximately one-to-four hours to diagnose and replace the element.
During this time, productivity is severely reduced. If more than one of the elements fails at the same time,
the system could fail. This could cause significant damage to agency operations and violate the 99.9%
uptime requirements set forth in the contract. Plus, if it is determined that the element failed because it
was a counterfeit, there would be additional costs associated with reporting the counterfeit.

Mitigation Strategy:
The following were identified as potential mitigating activities (from NIST SP 800-161):


Require developers to perform security testing/evaluation at all post‐design phases of the SDLC
[Ref. SA-11];
Validate that the information system or system component received is genuine and has not beenaltered [Ref. SA-12(10)];
Incorporate security requirements into the design of information systems (security engineering)[Ref. PL-8, SC-36]; andEmploy supplier diversity requirements [PL-8(2)].

Based on these controls, the agency was able to devise a strategy that would include:

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

Acceptance testing: Examination of elements to ensure that they are new, genuine, and that all
associated licenses are valid. Testing methods include, where appropriate: physical inspection bytrained personnel using digital imaging, digital signature verification, serial/part number
verification, and sample electrical testing;
Increase security requirements into the design of the system by adding redundant elements alongmore critical paths (as determined by a criticality analysis) in order to minimize the impact of anelement failure; andSearch for alternative vetted suppliers/trusted components.

It was determined that this strategy would cost less than accepting the risk of allowing counterfeits into
the system or modifying the system to accept the upgraded element. The estimated cost for implementing
a more rigorous acquisition and testing program was $80,000; the cost for increasing security engineering
requirements was $100,000.

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Threat Scenario

Threat Source:
Vulnerability:
Threat Event
Description:
Outcome:Organizational units /processes affected:

Impact:Risk

Likelihood:
Risk Score (Impact
x Likelihood):
Acceptable Level of
Risk:

Counterfeit telecommunications element introduced into supply chain.
Element no longer produced by OEM.
Purchasing authorities unable / unwilling to identify and purchase only genuine
elements.
Threat agent inserts their counterfeit element into a trusted distribution chain. 
Purchasing authorities buy the counterfeit element.  Counterfeit elements installed
into the system.
The element fails more frequently than before, increasing the number of outages.
Acquisitions
MaintenanceOEM / supplier relations
Mission-essential functions
High - Outages increase by
80 %Medium – Outages
increase by 40 %Low – outages increaseby 10 %

15 %

40 %

45 %

High

Low

Mitigation

Increase acceptance testing
capabilities [SCRM_SA-9;
SCRM_SA-10 (7)], increase security
Potential Mitigating
requirements in design of systems
Strategies / SCRM[SCRM_PL-3, SCRM_SC-13], andControls:
employ supplier diversity
requirements [SCRM_PL-3(1)].
Estimated Cost of
Mitigating
Strategies:
Change inLikelihood:
Change in Impact:

Modify the system to accept element
upgrade.

$180,000$1million

Low

Large

Moderate

None

Agency-level examination and testing.
Place elements in escrow until they pass defined acceptance testing criteria.
Selected Strategies:
Increase security engineering.
Search for multiple suppliers of the element.
Estimated Residual Low
Risk:

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Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________SCENARIO 2: Industrial Espionage

Background:
Harlow Inc., a semiconductor (SC) company used by the organization to produce military and aerospacesystems, is considering a partnership with a KXY Co. to leverage their fabrication facility. This would
represent a significant change in the supply chain related to a critical system element. A committee wasformed including representatives from the organization, Harlow Inc., and the integration company to help
identify the impact that the partnership would have on the organization and risk-appropriate mitigating
practices to enact when the partnership is completed.

Environment:
The systems of concern are vital to the safety of military and aerospace missions. While not classified, theelement that KXY would be expected to manufacture is unique, patented, and critical to the operational
status of the systems. Loss of availability of the element while the system is operational could havesignificant, immediate impact across multiple agencies and the civilian populous, including loss of lifeand millions of dollars in damages. An initial Risk Assessment was accomplished using [NIST SP 800-30
Rev. 1], and the existing level of risk for this is was given a score of “Moderate.”
KXY currently produces a state-of-the-art, low-cost wafer fabrication whose focus is primarily
commercial. The nation-state in which KXY operates has a history of conducting industrial espionage togain IP / technology. They have shown interest in semiconductor technology and provided a significant
grant to KXY to expand into the military and aerospace markets. While KXY does not currently have thetesting infrastructure to meet U.S. industry compliance requirements, the nation-state’s resources are
significant, including the ability to provide both concessions as well as incentives to help KXY meetthose requirements.
The key area of concern was that the nation-state in which KXY operates would be able to use its
influence to gain access to the element or the element’s design.
The committee reviewed current mitigation strategies in place and determined that Harlow, Inc., theintegration company, and the organization had several existing practices to ensure that the system and all
critical elements, as determined by a criticality analysis, met specific functionality requirements. For
example, the system and critical elements are determined compliant with relevant industry standards. As
part of their requirements under [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4], the agency had some information protection
requirements (Ref. PM-11). In addition, Harlow, Inc. had a sophisticated inventory tracking system that
required that most elements be uniquely tagged using RFID technology or otherwise identified fortraceability (Ref. SA-12(14)).

Threat Scenario:
Based on past experience, the organization decided that KXY’s host nation would likely perform one of
two actions if given access to the technology: sell it to interested parties or insert / identify vulnerabilities
for later exploitation. For either of these threat events to be successful, the host nation would have tounderstand the purpose of the element and be given significant access to the element or element’s design.
This could be done with cooperation of KXY’s human resources department, through deception, or byphysical or electronic theft. Physical theft would be difficult given existing physical control requirements
and inventory control procedures. For a modified element to be purchased and integrated with the system,
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it would need to pass various testing procedures at both the integrator and agency levels. Testing methods
currently implemented include radiographic examination, material analysis, electrical testing, and sample
accelerated life testing. Modifications to identification labels/schemes would need to be undetectable in abasic examination. In addition, KXY would need to pass routine audits, which would check KXY’s
processes for ensuring the quality and functionality of the element.
The committee decided that, despite existing practices, there was a 30 % chance that the host nation
would have the motivation and ability to develop harmful modifications to the element without detection,
exploit previously unknown vulnerabilities, or provide the means for one of their allies to do the same.
This could result in a loss of availability or integrity of the system, causing significant harm. Using
information from an initial Risk Assessment accomplished using [NIST SP 800-30 Rev. 1], thecommittee identified this as the worst-case scenario with an impact score of “High.”
There is approximately a 40% chance that the host nation could and would sell the technology tointerested parties, resulting in a loss of technological superiority. If this scenario occurred, friendly
military and civilian lives could be at risk, intelligence operations would be damaged, and more money
would be required to invest in a new solution. The committee assigned an impact score for this scenario
of “Moderate.”
The committee determined that the overall combined risk score for the vulnerability of concern was“High.”

Mitigating strategies:
Using NIST SP 800-161 as a base, three broad strategies were identified by the committee: (1) improve
traceability capabilities, (2) increase provenance and information requirements, and (3) choose anothersupplier. These three options were analyzed in more detail to determine specific implementation
strategies, their impact on the scenarios, and their estimated cost to implement. (Specific technologies andtechniques are not described in this case, but would be useful in an actual threat scenario evaluation.)
Improve traceability and monitoring capabilities.
 CM-8 - INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENT INVENTORY IA-1 - IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION POLICY AND PROCEDURES
 SA-10 - DEVELOPER CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT SCRM_SA-12(10) - SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | VALIDATE AS GENUINE AND NOTALTERED SCRM_SA-12(14) - SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | IDENTITY AND TRACEABILITY
Cost = 20 % increase
Impact = 10 % decrease
Increase provenance and information control requirements.
 AC-21 - COLLABORATION AND INFORMATION SHARING PV-1 - PROVENANCE POLICY AND PROCEDURES PV-2 - BASELINING AND TRACKING PROVENANCE
Cost = 20 % increase
Impact = 20 % decrease
Choose another supplier.
 SA-12(2) - SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION | SUPPLIER REVIEWS
Cost = 40 % increase
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Impact = 80 % decrease
Based on this analysis, the committee decided to implement a combination of practices: Develop and require unique, difficult-to-copy labels or alter labels to discourage cloning or
modification of the component [Ref. SA-12(5)]; Minimize the amount of information that is shared to suppliers. Require that the information be
secured [Ref. AC-21]; and Require provenance be kept and updated throughout the SDLC [Ref. PV-1].
With this combination of controls, the estimated residual risk was determined to be equivalent with theexisting risk without the partnership at a cost increase that is less than if the organization changed
suppliers.

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Threat Scenario________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Threat Source:

Nation-state with significant resources looking to steal IP

Vulnerability:

Supplier considering partnership with company that has relationship with threatsource.

Threat Event
Description:

Nation-state helps KXY meet industry compliance requirements.
Harlow, Inc. partners with KXY to develop chips.

Existing
Practices:

Strong contractual requirements as to the functionality of the system and elements
Comprehensive inventory tracking system at Harlow, Inc.
Industry compliance requirements

Outcome:Nation-state extracts technology threat actor, modifies technology, or exploits
previously unknown vulnerability.

Risk

Organizational units /processes affected:

KXY Supplier
Harlow, Inc. / integrator functionality testing
Technology users
Other federal agencies / customers

Impact:Technology modified /vulnerabilities exploited – HighTechnology sold to interested parties Moderate

Likelihood:Moderate

Moderate

Risk Score(Impact x
Likelihood):High

Acceptable
Level of Risk:

Moderate

Potential
Mitigating
Strategies /SCRM Controls:
Estimated Costof Mitigating
Strategies:(1) Improve traceability
and monitoring
capabilities(3) Choose anothersupplier

20 % increase(2) Increase
provenance andinformation control
requirements
20 % increase

Moderate

Moderate

Moderate

40 % increase

New Risk Score:

Mitigation

Selected
Strategies:

Estimated
Residual Risk:

APPENDIX D

Develop and require unique, difficult-to-copy labels or alter labels to discouragecloning or modification of the component. [SCRM_SA-10 (3)]Minimize the amount of information that is shared to suppliers. Require that the
information be secured. [SCRM AC-11]
Require provenance be kept and updated throughout the SDLC. [SCRM_PV-1]
Moderate - The residual risk was determined to be equivalent with the existing risk
without the partnership.

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Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________SCENARIO 3: Malicious Code Insertion

Background:
An organization has decided to perform a threat scenario analysis on a traffic control system. The
scenario is to focus on software vulnerabilities and should provide general recommendations regarding
mitigating practices.

Environment:
The system runs nearly automatically and uses computers running a commonly available operating
system along with centralized servers. The software was created in-house and is regularly maintained andupdated by an integration company on contract for the next five years. The integration company is large,
frequently used by the organization in a variety of projects, and has significant resources to ensure that thesystem maintains its high availability and integrity requirements.
Threats to the system could include: loss of power to the system, loss of functionality, or loss of integrity
causing incorrect commands to be processed. Some threat sources could include nature, malicious
outsiders, and malicious insiders. The system is equipped with certain safety controls such as backup
generator power, redundancy of design, and contingency plans if the system fails.

Threat Event:The organization decided that the most concerning threat event would be if a malicious insider were tocompromise the integrity of the system. Possible attacks included that the threat actor could insert a worm
or a virus into the system, reducing its ability to function, or they could manually control the system fromone of the central servers or by creating a back-door in the server to be accessed remotely. Depending on
the skillfulness of the attack, an insider could gain control of the system, override certain fail-safes, andcause significant damage.
Based on this information, the organization developed the following fictitious threat event to be analyzed:
John Poindexter, a disgruntled employee of the integration company, decides to insert someopen source malware into a component of the system. He then resigns from the firm, leaving no
traceability of his work. The malware has the ability to call home to John and provides him
access to stop or allow network traffic at any or all 50 of the transportation stations. As aresult, there would be unpredictable, difficult-to-diagnose disruptions, causing significant
monetary losses and safety concerns.
After a Risk Assessment was accomplished using [NIST SP 800-30 Rev. 1], management has decided
that the acceptable level of risk for this scenario is “Moderate.”

Threat Scenario Analysis:
If John were successful, a potential course of events would be as follows:
John conducts a trial run – shutting off the services of one station for a short time. It would be
discounted as a fluke and have minimal impact. Later, John would create increasingly frequentdisruptions at various stations. These disruptions would cause anger among employees andcustomers and some safety concerns. The integration company would be made aware of problem
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and begin to investigate the cause. They would create a work-around, assuming there was a bugin the system. However, because the malicious code would be buried and difficult to identify, theintegration company wouldn’t discover it. John would then create a major disruption acrossseveral transportation systems at once. The work-around created by the integration company
would fail due to the size of the attack, and all transportation services would be halted. Travelers
would be severely impacted, and the media alerted. The method of attack would be identified andthe system modified to prevent John from accessing the system again. However, the underlying
malicious code would remain. Revenue would decrease significantly for several months. Legal
questions would be raised. Resources would be invested in assuring the public that the system
was safe.

Mitigating Practices:
The organization identified the following as potential areas for improvement:

Establish and retain identification of supply chain elements, processes, and actors [SA-12(14)];
Control access and configuration changes within the SDLC and require periodic code reviews[AC-1, AC-2, CM-3];
Require static code testing [SA-14]; andIncident Response Handling [IR-4].

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Threat Scenario________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Threat Source:

Integrator– Malicious Code Insertion

Vulnerability:

Minimal oversight of integrator activities - no checks and balances for any individual
inserting a small piece of code.

Threat Event
Description:

Disgruntled employee of an Integrator company inserts malicious functionality into
traffic navigation software, and then leaves the company.

Existing
Practices:

Integrator: peer-review process
Acquirer: Contract that sets down time, cost, and functionality requirements

Outcome:50 large metro locations and 500 instances affected by malware. When activated, themalware causes major disruptions to traffic.

Organizational units /processes affected:

Mitigation

Risk

Impact:Traffic Navigation System
Implementation company
Legal
Public Affairs
High – Traffic disruptions are major and last for two weeks while a work-around iscreated. Malicious code is not discovered and remains a vulnerability.

Likelihood:High

Risk Score(Impact x
Likelihood):High

Acceptable Levelof Risk:Potential
Mitigating
Strategies / SCRM
Controls:
Estimated Cost of
Mitigating
Strategies:

Moderate

Change in Impact:

Large

Change inLikelihood:

Large

SCRM_AC-1; SCRM_ AC-2; SCRM_CM-3; SCRM_IR-2;
SCRM_SA-10(11); SCRM_SA-11(1)$2.5 million

Combination of strategies using the mitigation noted
Selected Strategies:
Estimated Residual
Risk:

APPENDIX D

Moderate

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________SCENARIO 4: Unintentional Compromise

Background:
Uninformed insiders replace components with more cost-efficient solutions without understanding theimplications to performance, safety, and long-term costs.
An organization has concerns about its acquisition policies and has decided to conduct a threat scenario
analysis to identify applicable mitigating practices. Any practices selected must be applicable to a variety
of projects and have significant success within a year.

Environment:
The agency acquires many different systems with varying degrees of requirements. Because of thecomplexity of the environment, agency officials decided that they should use a scenario based on an
actual past event.

Threat Event:
Using an actual event as a basis, the agency designed the following threat event narrative:
Gill, a newly hired program manager, is tasked with reducing the cost of a $5 million systembeing purchased to support complex research applications in a unique physical environment. The
system would be responsible for relaying information regarding temperature, humidity, and toxic
chemical detection as well as for storing and analyzing various data sets. There must not be any
unscheduled outages more than 10 seconds long, or there will be serious safety concerns andpotential destruction of research. The agency’s threat assessment committee determined that theacceptable level of risk for this type of event has a score of 2/10.
Gill sees that a number of components in the system design are priced high compared with similar
components he has purchased in the commercial acquisition space. Gill asks John, a juniorengineer with the integration company, to replace several load balancer / routers in the systemdesign to save costs.

Threat Scenario Analysis:
The agency decided that there were three potential outcomes to the scenario:
1. It is determined that the modifications are inadequate before any are purchased (30 % chance, no
impact);2. It is determined that the modifications are inadequate during testing (40 % chance, low impact);or
3. The inadequacy of the modifications is undetected, the routers are installed in the system, begin
to fail, and create denial of service incidents (30 % chance, high impact).

Mitigating strategies:
Three potential mitigating strategies were identified: Improve the existing training program [Ref. AT-1] and add configuration management controls tomonitor all proposed changes to critical systems [Ref. CM-1];
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

Improve the testing requirements [Ref. SA-11]; andRequire redundancy and heterogeneity in the design of systems [Ref. SC-29, SC-36].

Adding configuration management controls would increase the likelihood that the modifications are
rejected either at the initial stage or during testing, but it was determined that a $200,000 investment in
training alone could not bring the level of risk to an acceptable level in the time required.
Improving the testing requirements would increase the likelihood that the modifications are rejectedduring testing, but it was determined that no amount of testing alone could bring the level of risk to an
acceptable level.
Requiring redundancy and heterogeneity in the design of the system would significantly reduce theimpact of this and other events of concern, but could double the cost of a project. In this scenario, it wasdetermined that an investment of $2 million would be required to bring the risk to an acceptable level.
As a result of this analysis, the agency decided to implement a combination of practices: A mandatory, day-long training program for those handling the acquisition of critical systems andadding configuration management controls requiring changes be approved by a configuration
management board (CMB) ($80,000 initial investment);
 $60,000 investment in testing equipment and software for critical systems and elements; and Redundancy and diversity of design requirements as deemed appropriate for each project.
It was determined that this combination provided a series of practices that would be most cost-effective
for a variety of projects and would also help mitigate the risk from a variety of threats.

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Threat Scenario________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Threat Source:Internal Employee – Unintentional Compromise

Vulnerability:

Lax training practices

Threat Event
Description:

A new acquisition officer (AO) with experience in commercial acquisition is tasked
with reducing hardware costs. The AO sees that a number of components are priced
high and works with an engineer to change the purchase order.
Minimal training program that is not considered mandatory
Basic testing requirements for system components

Outcome:

Change is foundunsuitable before
purchase

Change is foundunsuitable in testing

Change passes testing, routers
installed and start to fail, causing adenial of service situation.

Organizational units /processes affected:

None

Acquisitions

Acquisitions, System, Users

Impact:

None

Low

High

Likelihood:

30 %

30 %

40 %

Risk Score(Impact x
Likelihood):

High

Risk

Existing
Practices:

Acceptable
Level of Risk:
Potential
Mitigating
Strategies /SCRM Controls:
Estimated Cost of
Mitigating
Strategies:

Mitigation

Change in
Impact:Change inLikelihood:

Low

Improve training program
and require changes beapproved by CMB.

Improve acquisition testing

Improve design of system$200,000---$2 million

None

+10 %

None

+10 %

-20 %

0

Significant

+20 %

-20 %

0

0

0

4/10
New Risk Score:

Selected
Strategies:
Residual Risk:

APPENDIX D

Make training program mandatory for those working on critical systems and requirechanges to critical systems be approved by a configuration management board. (Cost =$100,000)
Low

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APPENDIX E

ICT SCRM PLAN TEMPLATEThe following template is an example of the sections and the type of information that organizations
should include in their ICT SCRM plans. Guidance for specific Tiers is provided, where applicable.
Agencies should have at least one ICT SCRM plan. Depending on their governance structure and size,
agencies can have multiple ICT SCRM plans, one for Tier 1, several for Tier 2, and several for Tier 3.24
Regardless of the total number of plans, the ICT SCRM requirements and controls at the higher tiers willflow down to the lower tiers and should be used to guide the development of the lower tier ICT SCRM
plans. Conversely, the ICT SCRM controls and requirements at the lower tiers should be considered indeveloping and revising requirements and controls applied at the higher tiers.
ICT SCRM controls in the ICT SCRM plan can be applied in different life cycle processes, for example,
the incident response (IR) control can be applied in both the Infrastructure Management life cycle process
and the Operations life cycle process. Figure H-2 lists [ISO/IEC 15288] life cycle processes.

Agreement Process

Project Process

Technical Process

Acquisition

Project Planning

SupplyProject Assessment and Control

Stakeholder Requirements
Definition

Organizational ProjectEnabling Processes

Decision Management

Risk Management

Life Cycle Model Management

Configuration Management

Infrastructure Management

Information Management

Project Portfolio Management

Measurement

Human Resource Management

Requirements Analysis
Architectural Design

Implementation
Integration
Verification
Transition
Validation

Quality Management

Operation

Figure E-1: ISO/IEC 15288 Life Cycle Processes

When addressing security concerns within an ICT SCRM plan, agencies may choose to integrate their
Tier 3 ICT SCRM controls into the applicable System Security plans or create individual ICT SCRM
plans for Tier 3 that reference corresponding System Security plans.

24 Description of Tiers is provided in Chapter 2.

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________ICT SCRM plans should cover the full SDLC of ICT systems and programs, including research anddevelopment, design, manufacturing, acquisition, delivery, integration, operations, anddisposal/retirement. The ICT SCRM plan activities should be integrated into the organization’s systemand software life cycle processes to ensure that ICT SCRM activities are integrated into those processes.
Similar controls in the ICT SCRM plan can be applied in more than one life cycle process. Figure H-2
shows how the ICT SCRM plan activities can be integrated into various example life cycles.

Figure E-2: ICT SCRM Plan and Life Cycles

These ICT SCRM plans should include as attachments relevant agreements provided by system
integrators, suppliers, and external service providers as part of the contracting process.25 It is expectedthat these agreements will be mostly attached at Tier 3 ICT SCRM plans, but they may also be attached toTier 1 and Tier 2 ICT SCRM plans for acquisitions that span multiple systems. Review and update ICTSCRM plans on a schedule that includes life cycle milestones or gate reviews and significant contracting

25 Such agreements, which also can be referred to as system integrator, supplier, and external provider ICT SCRM Plans, may

describe details of risk management activities performed on behalf of the end user by supply chain participants.

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activities. ICT SCRM plans may be used to help define “fit for purpose” criteria for significant
contracting activities (e.g., based on the organization’s mission or supported mission function).
Italicized explanations for some template sections are provided to explain the intent of the paragraph.

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1

INTRODUCTION

Describe the purpose of the ICT SCRM plan. Tier 1 and 2 ICT SCRM plans may need to be derived inwhole or in part from existing policies or other guidance. Tier 3 plans may be closely tied to systemsecurity plans (SSPs).
For all tiers, provide a general statement that conveys the intent of the organizational leadership to adhere
to the plan, enforce its controls, and ensure that it remains current.
1.1

Purpose and Scope

Include: agency name, tier for which this plan applies.
For Tier 1, list all Tier 2 ICT SCRM plans within the scope of the Tier 1 ICT SCRM plan. (This list is anattachment to the ICT SCRM plan. In the event of organizational changes, it would be preferable to makechanges to the Tier 1 attachment than to each individual System Security plan.) For Tier 1, describe thescope of the applicable organization to which this ICT SCRM plan applies.
For Tier 2:
 List a unique identifier given to the mission/business. This may be names of acquisition
programs, IT acquisition (e.g., listed in applicable OMB Exhibit 300), or any other designator that
describes the scope of the ICT SCRM plan at Tier 2.
 Provide a brief explanation of what this mission/business encompasses, including a high-levelsummary of systems within the scope of this ICT SCRM plan.
 List all Tier 3 ICT SCRM plans and/or System Security plans within the scope of this Tier 2 ICTSCRM plan.
For Tier 3, if creating a separate ICT SCRM plan, include a unique identifier and name given to thesystem. (For consideration: List all essential supporting systems and interfaces (such as network
infrastructure) and their relevant SCRM data from their ICT SCRM plans if such a plan exists. This
provides the opportunity for the agency to find missing, overlapping, and redundant controls. Most, if not
all supporting systems will require as a minimum, replacements, supplies, and upgrades.)1.2

Authority

Include: Authorities and references to relevant agency documents such as policies, strategic plan(s),acquisition guidelines, processes, procedures, etc. Policies may include ICT SCRM policy, security
policy, acquisition policy, or any other policy applicable in the context of this ICT SCRM plan.
For Tier 2, include applicable Tier 1 ICT SCRM plan title.
For Tier 3, include applicable Tier 1 and Tier 2 ICT SCRM plan titles.
1.3

Audience

For all three tiers, include any agency organizational units that should be active participants or interested
parties in this ICT SCRM plan and that should be using it to inform their activities. These may include
legal, acquisition, IT security, supply chain and logistics, human resources, finance, etc., and specificindividual roles such as CISO, procurement personnel, program managers, etc., as appropriate.
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2

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIESFor all three tiers, state those responsible for the ICT SCRM plan and key contributors to ICT SCRM. See
Section 2.1 for more detail.
2.1

Responsibility for the plan

State the role and name of the individual or group responsible for the ICT SCRM plan.
For Tier 1, an example may be Risk Executive (function), CFO, or CIO.
For Tier 2, an example may be CIO or Program Manager.
For Tier 3, this is the System Owner and, if integrated into the System Security plan, also the
Authorizing Official.
Include the name, title, organizational affiliation, address, email address, and phone number of each
person.
2.2

Key Contributors

Identify key contributors to the ICT SCRM plan.
For Tier 1, an example may be Agency CFO, COO, Acquisition/Contracting.
For Tier 2, an example may be Acquisition/Contracting, Operations Manager, System Architect.
For Tier 3, an example may be System Engineer, Security Engineer, Developer/MaintenanceEngineer.

Include the name, title, organizational affiliation, address, email address, and phone number of each
person.

3

ICT SCRM CONTROLS

List applicable (per tier) ICT SCRM controls resulting from the Evaluation of Alternatives (in Respond,
Task 3-3). The description of each control should include the following:

Title;How the ICT SCRM control is being implemented or planned to be implemented;
Applicable scoping guidance; andTailoring decisions with justifications.

For Tier 2, reference applicable Tier 1 ICT SCRM plan that provides common controls.
For Tier 3, reference applicable Tier 2 ICT SCRM plan that provides common controls.

4

USING AND REVISING ICT SCRM PLAN

ICT SCRM plans are living documents that must be updated and communicated to all appropriate
individuals - government staff, contractors, and suppliers.

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4.1

Communicating ICT SCRM Plan

Describe the processes by which this ICT SCRM plan will be communicated to other Tiers to ensure that
ICT supply chain interdependencies are addressed. Examples include:





4.2

Posting on appropriate agency portal(s);Communicating via email;Briefing appropriate individuals including those responsible for addressing deficiencies; andIncluding information contained in the ICT SCRM plan in applicable training and outreachmaterials.
Revision and Improvement

Tier 1 and 2 ICT SCRM plans should be reviewed at a minimum on an annual basis since changes tolaws, policies, standards, guidelines, and controls are dynamic and evolving. As a minimum, review andupdate Tier 3 ICT SCRM plans at life cycle milestones, gate reviews, and significant contracting
activities, and verify for compliance with upper tier plans as appropriate.
State the required frequency for ICT SCRM plan reviews to consider updates.
Define criteria that would trigger ICT SCRM plan revisions. This may include:









Change of authorities that apply to the ICT SCRM plan;
Change of policies that apply to the ICT SCRM plan;Significant ICT SCRM events;
Introduction of new technologies;
Shortcomings in the ICT SCRM plan;
For Tiers 2 and 3, change of governing ICT SCRM plan for the Tiers above;
Change of scope; andOther agency-specific criteria.

If deemed helpful, ICT SCRM plan owners can use the ICT SCRM plan of Action and Milestones(POAM) to assess the impact of the changes and guide ICT SCRM plan revisions and to ensure that the
updated plan does not leave a gap in coverage from the previous version. Describe the ICT SCRM
POA&M process and resolution steps.
4.3 Implementing and Assessing Effectiveness of ICT SCRM Plans
Agencies should use their ICT SCRM plans during the budgeting and planning process, particularly withrespect to acquisition and procurement activities. This includes the operations staff procuring
replacement parts and ancillary services that may not be aware of the potential ICT supply chain risks
associated with such procurements without following applicable ICT SCRM plans. Each tier’s ICT SCRM

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plan should describe ICT supply chain risk management monitoring and enforcement activities (including
auditing if appropriate) applicable to the scope of each specific plan.
If appropriate, ICT SCRM plan owners may decide to use qualitative or quantitative measures to support
implementation of the plan and to assess effectiveness of this implementation. 26 If measures are used, theyshould be stated in the plan.
Contractor and supplier-provided plans, associated with Tier 3 systems, should be included if such plans
are part of contractual agreements. Figure H-3 depicts an example process flow for implementing agency
ICT SCRM plan(s).

Market participants(System Integrators, ExternalService Providers)Tier 3 (Govt.)

Tier 1 & 2 (Govt.)

Title: SCRM Plan – Acquisition Activities

Tier 1 ICT SCRM
Plan

Enterprise and mission/business risk
determination

informs

Tier 2 ICT SCRM Plan
Compliance
check

Results ofenterprise andmission/businessrisk
determinationand end-user risk
determination

OutlineTier 3
ICT SCRM
Plan

optional

Seek industry
input on ICT
SCRM
requirements
using RFI to
industry

Determine
what isneededfromsystemintegrators
andexternal
serviceproviders

Providerecommendations
on ICT SCRM
requirements

Publish ICTSCRM Plan
requirementsin RFP/RFQ

Evaluate
andSelectCompliance
check

Accept final
input andbuild into
Govt. plan

Delivermissionrelevant
inputs into
Provide high-level
final ICT
plan that satisfies
SCRM plan
selection criteria(may becompanysensitive
info)
Contract Award

Independent
verification of
ICT SCRM plancompliance

Executecontract
IAW ICTSCRM plan

Figure E-3: Agency Implementation of ICT SCRM Plan

Describe general details about the use of the ICT SCRM plan such as when to initiate collaboration withengineering and contracting activities, the condition under which an ICT SCRM plan audit is performed,
and permissible steps to enforce the conditions of ICT SCRM plans.
For Tier 3, describe the significant components and the impacts to those components from contractor or
supplier–provided ICT SCRM plans.

26 NIST SP 800-55 Revision 1, Performance Measurement Guide for Information Security (July 2008) provides guidance on

developing information security measures. Agencies can use general guidance in that publication to develop specific measures
for their ICT SCRM plans. See http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-55-Rev1/SP800-55-rev1.pdf.

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A useful approach to implementing the SCRM plan is to ensure that the various activities are mapped andtracked as part of an SDLC. This ensures full coverage of SCRM activities since these activities may
requires repeating and reintegrating (using spiral or agile techniques) which is a common effort in an
SDLC. SCRM plan activities are necessarily needed as early as in the concept and R&D steps of an
SDLC and certainly continue into the various SDLC steps including development, production, utilization,
support, and retirement steps.
There are a number of SDLCs that have been described by various entities. And each organization may
have its own variant that may have been defined and is currently implemented. What is important is thegeneral understanding and definition of the various SCRM plan activities and how they are mapped in theagency-specific SDLC.
To provide some guidance on how SCRM activities can be mapped to an SDLC, three example SDLCs
are provided with SCRM plan activities mapped (see figure H-2). These SDLCs are from NIST, DHS, andan example SDLC described in ISO/IEC15288. These SDLCs and the mapping are provided only as an
example and should be used as a guideline for agency-specific SCRM plan implementation. We are notendorsing or recommending any one SDLC.

Use of the following paragraphs is optional. Agencies should decide whether to use them depending on
mission criticality, applicable threats, and other factors per agency determination.
4.4

Use of ICT SCRM Plan during Contingencies and Emergencies

In the event of contingency or emergency operations, the agency may need to bypass normal acquisition
processes to allow for mission continuity. Contracting activities that are not vetted using approved ICTSCRM plan processes introduce unknown risk to the organization.
When appropriate at Tier 1, 2, or 3, describe abbreviated acquisition procedures to follow duringcontingencies and emergencies, such as the contact information for ICT SCRM subject matter experts
who can provide advice absent a formal tasking and approval chain of command.
For Tier 1, describe agency procedures and waiver processes.
For Tier 2, describe mission/business procedures and waiver processes in addition to Tier 1.
For Tier 3, describe system-specific procedures and waiver processes in addition to Tiers 1 and 2.

ATTACHMENTS
For Tier 1, attach or provide links to applicable Tier 2 ICT SCRM plans.
For Tier 2, attach or provide links to applicable Tier 3 ICT SCRM plans.
For Tier 3, attach or provide links to applicable plans for essential supporting systems.
For Tier 3, attach applicable contractual agreements or ICT SCRM plans provided by contractors or
suppliers.

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APPENDIX FGLOSSARY
Term
AccessDefinition
Ability to make use of any information system resource.

Source[NIST SP 800-32]

Acquirer

Stakeholder that acquires or procures a product or service.

Acquisition

Includes all stages of the process of acquiring product orservices, beginning with the process for determining the needfor the product or services and ending with contract
completion and closeout.
The official management decision given by a seniororganizational official to authorize operation of an information
system and to explicitly accept the risk to organizational
operations (including mission, functions, image, or
reputation), organizational assets, individuals, otherorganizations, and the Nation based on the implementation ofan agreed-upon set of security controls.
All components of an information system to be authorized for
operation by an authorizing official and excludes separately
authorized systems, to which the information system isconnected.
Senior federal official or executive with the authority toformally assume responsibility for operating an information
system at an acceptable level of risk to organizational
operations (including mission, functions, image, or
reputation), organizational assets, individuals, otherorganizations, and the Nation.
Hardware, software, databases, and relevant documentation
for an information system at a given point in time.
The identification of system and its components, whether
physical or logical, that are considered critical to anorganization’s mission. The reduced functional capability,
incapacity, or destruction of such systems and components
would have a significant adverse impact on an organization’s
operations (including mission, functions, image, or
reputation), assets, individuals, other organizations, and the
Nation.
Software and hardware that already exists and is available
from commercial sources. It is also referred to as off-the-shelf.

[ISO/IEC 15288](adapted)[NIST SP 800-64
Rev. 2] (adapted)

Authorization(to operate)

Authorization
Boundary

Authorizing
Official (AO)

Baseline
Baseline
Criticality

Commercial offthe-shelf (COTS)

APPENDIX F[NIST SP 800-53
Rev. 4][NIST SP 800-53
Rev. 4][CNSSI No. 4009][CNSSI No.
4009][CNSSI No. 4009](adapted)[NIST SP 800-64
Rev. 2]

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Contract

Contract
administration
officeContracting officeContracting
Officer (CO)Counterfeit(Goods)A mutually binding legal relationship obligating the seller tofurnish the supplies or services (including construction) andthe buyer to pay for them. It includes all types of commitmentsthat obligate the Government to an expenditure of
appropriated funds and that, except as otherwise authorized,
are in writing. In addition to bilateral instruments, contracts
include (but are not limited to) awards and notices of awards;
job orders or task letters issued under basic orderingagreements; letter contracts; orders, such as purchase orders,
under which the contract becomes effective by written
acceptance or performance; and bilateral contract
modifications. Contracts do not include grants and cooperative
agreements covered by 31 U.S.C. 6301, et seq.
An office that performs— (1) Assigned post-award functions
related to the administration of contracts; and (2) Assigned
pre-award functions.
An office that awards or executes a contract for supplies orservices and performs post-award functions not assigned to acontract administration office (except as defined in 48 CFR).
An individual who has the authority to enter into, administer,or terminate contracts and make related determinations andfindings.
An unauthorized copy or substitute that has been identified,marked, and/or altered by a source other than the item's legallyauthorized source and has been misrepresented to be an
authorized item of the legally authorized source.

CriticalComponent

A system element that, if compromised, damaged, or failed,could cause a mission or business failure.

Defense-inBreadth

A planned, systematic set of multidisciplinary activities that
seek to identify, manage, and reduce risk of exploitable
vulnerabilities at every stage of the system, network, or subcomponent life cycle (system, network, or product design anddevelopment; manufacturing; packaging; assembly; system
integration; distribution; operations; maintenance; andretirement).
Information security strategy integrating people, technology,
and operations capabilities to establish variable barriers acrossmultiple layers and dimensions of the organization.
A decline in quality or performance; the process by which the
decline is brought about.
A general term that includes: (i) developers or manufacturersof information systems, system components, or information
system services; (ii) systems integrators; (iii) vendors; and (iv)product resellers. Development of systems, components, orservices can occur internally within organizations (i.e., inhouse development) or through external entities.
A provider of external information system services to anorganization through a variety of consumer-producer

Defense-in-Depth

Degradation
Developer

External(information
APPENDIX F[48 C.F.R.][48 C.F.R.][48 C.F.R.][FAR][18 U.S.C.][CNSSI No. 4009][CNSSI No.
4009]; [NIST SP
800-53 Rev. 4][NIST SP 800-53
Rev. 4][NIST SP 800-53
Rev. 4]
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systems) Service
ProviderElement
Element Processes
Enhanced Overlay

FederalAcquisition
Regulation (FAR)
FederalInformation
Processing
Standard

Fit for purpose

High Impact

ICT Supply Chain

APPENDIX F

relationships including but not limited to: joint ventures;
business partnerships; outsourcing arrangements (i.e., throughcontracts, interagency agreements, lines of businessarrangements); licensing agreements; and/or supply chain
exchanges.
ICT system element is a member of a set of elements that
constitutes a system.
A series of operations performed in the making or treatment of
an element; performing operations on elements/data.
An overlay that adds controls, enhancements, or additional
guidance to security control baselines in order to highlight oraddress needs specific to the purpose of the overlay. (See“overlay.”)
The Federal Acquisition Regulations System is established forthe codification and publication of uniform policies andprocedures for acquisition by all executive agencies.

[48 C.F.R.]

A standard for adoption and use by federal departments andagencies that has been developed within the Information
Technology Laboratory and published by the National
Institute of Standards and Technology, a part of the U.S.
Department of Commerce. A FIPS covers some topic in
information technology in order to achieve a common level ofquality or some level of interoperability.
Fit for purpose is used informally to describe a process,configuration item, IT service, etc., that is capable of meeting
its objectives or service levels. Being fit for purpose requires
suitable design, implementation, control, and maintenance.

[NIST SP 800-64
Rev. 2]The loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability that could
be expected to have a severe or catastrophic adverse effect onorganizational operations, organizational assets, individuals,
other organizations, or the national security interests of theUnited States; (i.e., 1) causes a severe degradation in mission
capability to an extent and duration that the organization isable to perform its primary functions, but the effectiveness ofthe functions is significantly reduced; 2) results in major
damage to organizational assets; 3) results in major financial
loss; or 4) results in severe or catastrophic harm to individuals
involving loss of life or serious life threatening injuries).
Linked set of resources and processes between acquirers,
integrators, and suppliers that begins with the design of ICT
products and services and extends through development,
sourcing, manufacturing, handling, and delivery of ICT
products and services to the acquirer.
Note: An ICT supply chain can include vendors,
manufacturing facilities, logistics providers, distribution[FIPS 199];[CNSSI No. 4009][ITIL Service
Strategy](adapted)[ISO 28001](adapted)

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Control

ICT Supply Chain
Compromise

ICT Supply Chain
Infrastructure

ICT Supply Chain
Logistics

centers, distributors, wholesalers, and other organizations
involved in the manufacturing, processing, design anddevelopment, handling and delivery of the products, or service
providers involved in the operation, management, and deliveryof the services.
Means of managing ICT supply chain risk, including policies,
procedures, guidelines, practices, or organizational structures,
which can be of administrative, technical, management, or
legal nature.
An ICT supply chain compromise is an occurrence within the
ICT supply chain whereby an adversary jeopardizes theconfidentiality, integrity, or availability of a system or the
information the system processes, stores, or transmits. An ICT
supply chain compromise can occur anywhere within thesystem development life cycle of the product or service.
NOTE: System includes physical or electronic system or
network of organizations, people, technology, activities,
information, and resources. It also includes system or network
components. In the context of ICT supply chain, system
encompasses both the system that traverses the supply chain
and the organization’s ICT supply chain infrastructure.
NOTE: ICT supply chain is a system transforming natural
resources, raw materials, and components into a finished ICT
product or service from supplier to the end customer.
NOTE: Development life cycle in general includes design,
manufacturing, production, distribution, acquisition,
installation, operations, maintenance, and decommissioning.
The integrated set of components (hardware, software andprocesses) within the organizational boundary that compose
the environment in which a system is developed or
manufactured, tested, deployed, maintained, andretired/decommissioned.
The care, housing, and movement of ICT, including materials
and components (hardware and software).

ICT Supply Chain
Risk

Risks that arise from the loss of confidentiality, integrity, oravailability of information or information systems and reflect
the potential adverse impacts to organizational operations(including mission, functions, image, or reputation),organizational assets, individuals, other organizations, and the
Nation.

ICT Supply Chain
Risk Management

The process of identifying, assessing, and mitigating the risks
associated with the global and distributed nature of ICT
product and service supply chains.

APPENDIX F[ISO/IEC
27000:2014](adapted)[NIST SP 800-53
Rev. 4]; [FIPS200] (adapted)

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Identity

Industrial Security

Information andCommunications
Technology (ICT)Information
Assurance (IA)Information
SystemLikelihood

Life cycle
Low Impact

Market research
Moderate Impact

APPENDIX F

The set of attribute values (i.e., characteristics) by which anentity is recognizable and that, within the scope of an identity
manager’s responsibility, is sufficient to distinguish that entity
from any other entity.
The portion of internal security that refers to the protection ofindustrial installations, resources, utilities, materials, andclassified information essential to protect from loss or damage.
Encompasses the capture, storage, retrieval, processing,display, representation, presentation, organization,
management, security, transfer, and interchange of data andinformation.
Measures that protect and defend information and information
systems by ensuring their availability, integrity,
authentication, confidentiality, and non-repudiation. These
measures include providing for restoration of information
systems by incorporating protection, detection, and reaction
capabilities.
An information system is a discrete set of information
resources organized expressly for the collection, processing,maintenance, use, sharing, dissemination, or disposition of
information. Information systems also include specialized
systems such as industrial/process controls systems, telephoneswitching/private branch exchange (PBX) systems, andenvironmental control systems.
A weighted factor based on a subjective analysis of theprobability that a given threat is capable of exploiting a given
vulnerability
Evolution of a system, product, service, project, or otherhuman-made entity from conception through retirement.

[CNSSI No. 4009]

The loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability that could
be expected to have a limited adverse effect on organizational
operations, organizational assets, individuals, otherorganizations, or the national security interests of the UnitedStates (i.e., 1) causes a degradation in mission capability to an
extent and duration that the organization is able to perform its
primary functions, but the effectiveness of the functions is
noticeably reduced; 2) results in minor damage toorganizational assets; 3) results in minor financial loss; or 4)
results in minor harm to individuals).
Collecting and analyzing information about capabilities within
the market to satisfy agency needs.
The loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability that could
be expected to have a serious adverse effect on organizational
operations, organizational assets, individuals, otherorganizations, or the national security interests of the UnitedStates (i.e., 1) causes a significant degradation in mission
capability to an extent and duration that the organization isable to perform its primary functions, but the effectiveness ofthe functions is significantly reduced; 2) results in significant
damage to organizational assets; 3) results in significant[CNSSI No. 4009][NISPOM](adapted)[ISO/IEC 2382](adapted)[CNSSI No. 4009][NIST SP 800-53
Rev. 4][CNSSI No. 4009][ISO/IEC 15288][48 C.F.R.][CNSSI No. 4009]

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financial loss; or 4) results in significant harm to individuals
that does not involve loss of life or serious life-threatening
injuries).

ModularContracting

Organizational
Users

Overlay

Procurement
Provenance

Red Team/BlueTeam Approach

Under modular contracting, an executive agency’s need for asystem is satisfied in successive acquisitions of interoperable
increments. Each increment complies with common orcommercially accepted standards applicable to information
technology so that the increments are compatible with otherincrements of information technology comprising the system.
An organizational employee or an individual the organization
deems to have equivalent status of an employee including, forexample, contractor, guest researcher, or individual detailed
from another organization.

[41 U.S.C.]

A set of security controls, control enhancements, supplemental
guidance, and other supporting information, that is intended tocomplement (and further refine) security control baselines toprovide greater ability to appropriately tailor security
requirements for specific technologies or product groups,
circumstances and conditions, and/or operational
environments. The overlay specification may be more
stringent or less stringent than the original security control
baseline specification and can be applied to multiple
information systems.
(See “acquisition.”)For ICT SCRM, the records describing the possession of, andchanges to, components, component processes, information,systems, organization, and organizational processes.
Provenance enables changes to the baselines of components,
component processes, information, systems, organizations,and organizational processes, to be reported to appropriate
actors, functions, locales, or activities.
A group of people authorized and organized to emulate apotential adversary’s attack or exploitation capabilities against
an enterprise’s security posture. The Red Team’s objective isto improve enterprise Information Assurance by demonstrating
the impacts of successful attacks and by demonstrating whatworks for the defenders (i.e., the Blue Team) in an operational
environment.

[NIST SP 800-53
Rev. 4] (adapted)[NIST SP 800-53
Rev. 4][48 C.F.R.][CNSSI No. 4009]

1. The group responsible for defending an enterprise’s use of
information systems by maintaining its security postureagainst a group of mock attackers (i.e., the Red Team).
Typically, the Blue Team and its supporters must defend
against real or simulated attacks 1) over a significant period of
APPENDIX FPAGE F-6

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Risk Framing

Risk Management

Risk Mitigation

Secondary market
Security Control

Sources Sought
NoticeStatement ofWork (SOW)

APPENDIX F

time, 2) in a representative operational context (e.g., as part ofan operational exercise), and 3) according to rules establishedand monitored with the help of a neutral group refereeing thesimulation or exercise (i.e., the White Team).
2. The term Blue Team is also used for defining a group ofindividuals that conduct operational network vulnerability
evaluations and provide mitigation techniques to customers
who have a need for an independent technical review of their
network security posture. The Blue Team identifies security
threats and risks in the operating environment, and incooperation with the customer, analyzes the network
environment and its current state of security readiness. Basedon the Blue Team findings and expertise, they provide
recommendations that integrate into an overall community
security solution to increase the customer's cyber security
readiness posture. Often times a Blue Team is employed byitself or prior to a Red Team employment to ensure that thecustomer's networks are as secure as possible before having
the Red Team test the systems.
The set of assumptions, constraints, risk tolerances, andpriorities/trade-offs that shape an organization’s approach for
managing risk

The program and supporting processes to manage information
security risk to organizational operations (including mission,functions, image, reputation), organizational assets,
individuals, other organizations, and the Nation, and includes:(i) establishing the context for risk-related activities; (ii)assessing risk; (iii) responding to risk once determined; and(iv) monitoring risk over time.
Prioritizing, evaluating, and implementing the appropriate
risk-reducing controls/countermeasures recommended fromthe risk management process.
An unofficial, unauthorized, or unintended distribution
channel.
A safeguard or countermeasure prescribed for an information
system or an organization designed to protect theconfidentiality, integrity, and availability of its informationand to meet a set of defined security requirements.
A synopsis posted by a government agency that states they are
seeking possible sources for a project. It is not a solicitation
for work, nor is it a request for proposal.
The SOW details what the developer must do in theperformance of the contract. Documentation developed under
the contract, for example, is specified in the SOW. Security
assurance requirements, which detail many aspects of theprocesses the developer follows and what evidence must be
provided to assure the organization that the processes havebeen conducted correctly and completely, may also be[NIST SP 800-39][CNSSI No. 4009](adapted)[CNSSI No. 4009][FIPS 199]
(adapted)[FAR, Subpart7.3], [OMB
Circular A-76][NIST SP 800-64
Rev. 2]

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specified in the SOW.

Supplier

Supply Chain Map

SystemSystem Integrator

System Assurance

SystemDevelopment Life
Cycle (SDLC)
System Integrator

System Owner

ThreatThreatAssessment/
Analysis
Threat Event

APPENDIX F

Organization or individual that enters into an agreement withthe acquirer or integrator for the supply of a product orservice. This includes all suppliers in the supply chain.
Includes (i) developers or manufacturers of information
systems, system components, or information system services;(ii) vendors; and (iii) product resellers.
Descriptions or depictions of supply chains, including thephysical and logical flow of goods, information, processes,
and money, upstream and downstream through a supply chain.
They may include supply chain nodes, locations, delivery
paths, or transactions.
A combination of interacting elements organized to achieve
one or more stated purposes.
Those organizations that provide customized services to theacquirer including custom development, test, operations, andmaintenance.
The justified confidence that the system functions as intended
and is free of exploitable vulnerabilities, either intentionally orunintentionally designed or inserted as part of the system at
any time during the life cycle.
The scope of activities associated with a system,encompassing the system’s initiation, development andacquisition, implementation, operation and maintenance, andultimately its disposal that instigates another system initiation.
An organization that customizes (e.g., combines, adds,
optimizes) components, systems, and corresponding processes.
The integrator function can also be performed by acquirer.
Person or organization having responsibility for thedevelopment, procurement, integration, modification,
operation, and maintenance, and/or final disposition of an
information system.
Any circumstance or event with the potential to adversely
impact organizational operations (including mission,functions, image, or reputation), organizational assets,
individuals, other organizations, or the Nation through an
information system via unauthorized access, destruction,
disclosure, modification of information, and/or denial ofservice.
Process of formally evaluating the degree of threat to an
information system or enterprise and describing the nature of
the threat.
An event or situation that has the potential for causing
undesirable consequences or impact.

[ISO/IEC 15288](adapted); adaptedfrom definition of“developer” from[NIST SP 800-53
Rev. 4][ISO/IEC 15288][NDIA][NIST SP 800-34
Rev. 1]; [CNSSI
No. 4009][NIST IR 7622](adapted)[CNSSI No. 4009][NIST SP 800-53
Rev. 4]; [CNSSI
No. 4009][CNSSI No.
4009]; [NIST SP
800-53A Rev. 4][NIST SP 800-30
Rev. 1]

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Threat Source

Threat Scenario
Trust

Validation

Verification

Vetted Supplier

Visibility (alsoTransparency)

Either (1) intent or method targeted at the intentional
exploitation of a vulnerability, or (2) a situation and methodthat may accidentally trigger a vulnerability.
A set of discrete threat events, associated with a specific threatsource or multiple threat sources, partially ordered in time.
The confidence one element has in another, that the second
element will behave as expected.

Confirmation (through the provision of strong, sound,objective evidence) that requirements for a specific intended
use or application have been fulfilled.
Confirmation, through the provision of objective evidence,that specified requirements have been fulfilled (e.g., anentity’s requirements have been correctly defined, or anentity’s attributes have been correctly presented; or aprocedure or function performs as intended and leads to the
expected outcome).
A supplier with whom the organization is comfortable doing
business. This level of comfort is usually achieved throughdeveloping an organization-defined set of supply chain criteria
and then vetting suppliers against those criteria.
A property of openness and accountability throughout the
supply chain.

Vulnerability

Weakness in an information system, system security
procedures, internal controls, or implementation that could be
exploited or triggered by a threat source.

Vulnerability
Assessment

Systematic examination of an information system or productto determine the adequacy of security measures, identify
security deficiencies, provide data from which to predict theeffectiveness of proposed security measures, and confirm theadequacy of such measures after implementation.

APPENDIX F[NIST SP 800-30
Rev. 1][NIST SP 800-30
Rev. 1][Software
Assurance inAcquisition:
Mitigating Risks
to the Enterprise. ][ISO 9000][CNSSI No.
4009], [ISO 9000](adapted)[ISO/IEC 270362] (adapted)[NIST SP 800-53
Rev. 4]; [NIST SP
800-53A Rev. 4];[FIPS 200];[NIST SP 80053A Rev. 4];[CNSSI No. 4009]

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APPENDIX GACRONYMS
AO

Authorizing Official

APT

Advanced Persistent Threat

BIA

Business Impact Analysis

CFO

Chief Financial Officer

CIO

Chief Information Officer

CISO

Chief Information Security Officer

COO

Chief Operating Officer

CPO

Chief Privacy Officer

CMVP

Cryptographic Module Validation Program

CNSS

Committee on National Security Systems

CNSSI

Committee on National Security Systems Instruction

COTS

Commercial Off-The-Shelf

CTO

Chief Technology Officer

CUI

Controlled Unclassified Information

CVE

Common Vulnerability Enumeration

CWE

Common Weakness Enumeration

DHS

Department of Homeland Security

DISA

Defense Information Systems Agency

DoD

Department of Defense

FAR

Federal Acquisition Regulation

FICAM

Federal Identity, Credential, and Access Management

FIPS

Federal Information Processing Standards

FISMA

Federal Information Security Management Act

GOTS

Government Off-The-Shelf

APPENDIX GPAGE G-1

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________HAZMAT

Hazardous Materials

HR

Human Resources

HSPD

Homeland Security Presidential Directive

IA

Information Assurance

ICT

Information and Communication Technology

IDE

Integrated Development Environment

IEC

International Electrotechnical Commission

IP

Internet Protocol/Intellectual Property

ISO/IEC

International Organization for Standardization/International ElectrotechnicalCommission

IT

Information Technology

ITL

Information Technology Laboratory (NIST)NSA

National Security Agency

NASPO

North American Security Products Organization

NISPOM

National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual

NIST

National Institute of Standards and Technology

NISTIR

National Institute of Standards and Technology Interagency or Internal Report

NSTISSI

National Security Telecommunications and Information System Security Instruction

OEM

Original Equipment Manufacturer

OMB

Office of Management and Budget

OPSEC

Operations Security

OTS

Off-The-Shelf

O-TTPS

Open Trusted Technology Provider™ Standard

OWASP

Open Web Application Security Project

PACS

Physical Access Control System

PIV

Personal Identity Verification

PKI

Public Key Infrastructure

QA/QC

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

APPENDIX GPAGE G-2

Special Publication 800-161

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

R&D

Research and Development

RMF

Risk Management Framework

SAFECode

Software Assurance Forum for Excellence in Code

SCRM

Supply Chain Risk Management

SDLC

System Development Life Cycle

SLA

Service-Level Agreement

SOA

Service-Oriented ArchitectureSP

Special Publication (NIST)

U.S.

United States (of America)

USB

Universal Serial Bus

VoIP

Voice over Internet Protocol

VPN

Virtual Private Network

APPENDIX GPAGE G-3

Special Publication 800-161

Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

APPENDIX HREFERENCES[Common Criteria Evaluation & Validation Scheme, FAR, FIPS 199, FIPS 200, DODI 5200.39, DHS SSPD 4300A, NIST SP 800-30 Rev. 1, NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4, NIST SP 800-53A Rev. 4, Software Integrity Controls: An Assurance-Based Approach to Minimizing Risks in the Software Supply Chain, ANSI / NASPO Security Assurance Standard, NIST IR 7622, CNSSI No. 4009, "Strategic Supply Chain Mapping Approaches", Open Trusted Technology Provider TM Standard (O-TTPS), Version 1.0, Mitigating Maliciously Tainted and Counterfeit Products, ISO 28000, ISO
9001, ISO/IEC 27000, ISO/IEC 12207, ISO/IEC 27002, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27036-2, NIST SP 800-37 Rev. 1, Software Assurance in Acquisition: Mitigating Risks to the Enterprise. A Reference Guide for Security-Enhanced Software Acquisition and Outsourcing, The Software Supply Chain Integrity Framework: Defining Risks and Responsibilities for Securing Software in the Global Supply Chain][18 U.S.C.] 18 U.S.C. § 2320.
[41 U.S.C.] 41 U.S.C.
[48 C.F.R.] 48 C.F.R.
[ANSI/NASPO] ANSI / NASPO Security Assurance Standard, American National Standards Institute /North American Security Products Organization, 2008.
[ITIL Service Strategy] Cannon, David, ITIL Service Strategy, 2nd Edition, The Stationary Office,, July29, 2011.
[Defense Industrial Base Assessment: Counterfeit Electronics] Defense Industrial Base Assessment:
Counterfeit Electronics, U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office ofTechnology Evaluation, January 2010, http://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/formsdocuments/doc_view/37-defense-industrial-base-assessment-of-counterfeit-electronics-2010.
[FEDRAMP] FedRAMP, http://www.fedramp.gov/.
[Gardner] Gardner, John T. and Cooper, Martha C., "Strategic Supply Chain Mapping Approaches,"
Journal of Business Logistics, 24 (2003), doi:10.1002/j.2158-1592.2003.tb00045.x.
[NIAP-CCEVS] Common Criteria Evaluation & Validation Scheme, National Information Assurance
Partnership, https://www.niap-ccevs.org/.
[NIST SCRM Proceedings 2012] Summary of the Workshop on Information and Communication
Technologies Supply Chain Risk Management, Gaithersburg, MD, 2012,
http://www.nist.gov/customcf/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=913338.
[SwA] Software Assurance in Acquisition: Mitigating Risks to the Enterprise. A Reference Guide for
Security-Enhanced Software Acquisition and Outsourcing, DoD & DHS SwA Acquisition Working
Group, 2008, https://buildsecurityin.uscert.gov/sites/default/files/SwA_in_Acquisition_102208.pdf.
[SAFECode 1] Software Assurance Forum for Excellence in Code (Safecode), Software Integrity
Controls: An Assurance-Based Approach to Minimizing Risks in the Software Supply Chain, 2010,
http://www.safecode.org/publications/SAFECode_Software_Integrity_Controls0610.pdf.
[SAFECode 2] Software Assurance Forum for Excellence in Code (Safecode), The Software Supply
Chain Integrity Framework: Defining Risks and Responsibilities for Securing Software in the
Global Supply Chain, 2009,http://www.safecode.org/publication/SAFECode_Supply_Chain0709.pdf.

APPENDIX H

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Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal
Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________[O-TTPS] The Open Group, Open Trusted Technology ProviderTM Standard (O-TTPS), Version 1.0,
Mitigating Maliciously Tainted and Counterfeit Products, Open Trusted Technology Provider
Standard (O-TTPS), 2013, https://www2.opengroup.org/ogsys/catalog/c139.
[CNSSI 4009] National Information Assurance (IA) Glossary, April 26, 2010,
http://www.ncix.gov/publications/policy/docs/CNSSI_4009.pdf.
[DHS SSPD 4300A] Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sensitive Systems Policy Directive 4300A,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 2011,
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[DODI 5200.39] Department of Defense Instruction (DODI) 5200.39, Critical Program Information(CPI) Protection Within the Department of Defense U.S. Department of Defense, 2010,
http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/520039p.pdf.
[FAR]

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Acquisition Central, https://acquisition.gov/far/.

[FIPS 199] Federal Information Systems Processing Standard (FIPS) 199, Standards for Security
Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems, 2004,
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/fips/fips199/FIPS-PUB-199-final.pdf.
[FIPS 200] Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 200, Minimum Security Requirements forFederal Information and Information Systems, 2006,
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/fips/fips200/FIPS-200-final-march.pdf.
[ISO 9000] ISO 9000:2005, Quality Management, International Organization for Standardization, 2005,
http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_9000.
[ISO 9001] ISO 9001:2008, Quality Management Systems: Requirements, International Organization forStandardization, 2008,
http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=46486.
[ISO 28000] ISO 28000:2007, Specification for Security Management Systems for the Supply Chain,
International Organization for Standardization, 2007,
http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=44641.
[ISO 28001] ISO 28001:2007, Security management systems for the supply chain -- Best practices for
implementing supply chain security, assessments and plans -- Requirements and guidance,
International Organization for Standardization, 2007,
http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=45654.
[ISO/IEC 2382] ISO/IEC 2382-36:2013, Information Technology -- Vocabulary, International
Organization for Standardization / International Electrotechnical Commission, 2013,
http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=63598.
[ISO/IEC 12207] ISO/IEC 12207:2008, Systems and software engineering -- Software life cycle
processes, International Organization for Standardization / International ElectrotechnicalCommission, 2008, http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=43447.
APPENDIX H

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________[ISO/IEC 15288] ISO/IEC 15288:2008, Systems and software engineering -- System life cycle processes,
International Organization for Standardization / International Electrotechnical Commission, 2008,
http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=43564.
[ISO/IEC 27000] ISO/IEC 27000:2014, Information Technology – Security Techniques – Information
Security Management Systems – Overview and Vocabulary, International Organization forStandardization / International Electrotechnical Commission, 2014,
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[ISO/IEC 27001] ISO/IEC 27001:2013, Information technology -- Security techniques -- Information
security management systems -- Requirements, International Organization for Standardization /International Electrotechnical Commission, 2013,
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[ISO/IEC 27002] ISO/IEC 27002:2013, Information technology -- Security techniques -- Code ofpractice for information security controls, International Organization for Standardization /International Electrotechnical Commission, 2013,
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[ISO/IEC 27036] ISO/IEC 27036-2:2014, Information technology -- Security techniques -- Information
security for supplier relationships, International Organization for Standardization / International
Electrotechnical Commission, 2014,
http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=59680.
[NDIA] National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) System Assurance Committee, Engineering for
System Assurance, NDIA, Arlington, VA, 2008, http://www.acq.osd.mil/se/docs/SA-Guidebookv1-Oct2008.pdf.
[NISPOM] DoD 5220.22-M: National Industrial Security Program - Operating Manual (NISPOM),
Department of Defense, 2006, http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/522022m.pdf.
[NIST IR 7622] NIST Interagency Report (IR) 7622: Notional Supply Chain Risk Management Practices
for Federal Information Systems, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg,
MD, 2012, http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.7622.
[NIST SP 800-30 Rev. 1] NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-30 Revision 1, Guide for Conducting Risk
Assessments, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 2012,
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[NIST SP 800-32] NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-32: Introduction to Public Key Technology and theFederal PKI Infrastructure, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD,
2001, http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-32/sp800-32.pdf.
[NIST SP 800-34 Rev. 1] NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-34 Revision 1, Contingency Planning
Guide for Federal Information Systems, National Institute of Standards and Technology,
Gaithersburg, MD, 2010, http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-34-rev1/sp800-34rev1_errata-Nov11-2010.pdf.
[NIST SP 800-37] NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-37 Revision 1, Guide for Applying the Risk
Management Framework to Federal Information Systems: A Security Life Cycle Approach,
APPENDIX H

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Information Systems and Organizations________________________________________________________________________________________________________

National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 2010,
http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-37r1.
[NIST SP 800-39] NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-39, Managing Information Security Risk, National
Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 2011,
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[NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4] NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-53 Revision 4, Security and Privacy
Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations, National Institute of Standards andTechnology, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 2013, http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-53r4.
[NIST SP 800-53A Rev. 4] NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-53A Revision 4, Guide for Assessing the
Security Controls in Federal Information Systems and Organizations: Building Effective Security
Assessment Plans, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 2014,
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[NIST SP 800-64] NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-64 Revision 2: Security Considerations in the
System Development Life Cycle, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg,
MD, 2008, http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-64-Rev2/SP800-64-Revision2.pdf.
[NIST SP 800-100] NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-100, Information Security Handbook: A Guidefor Managers, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2006,
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[NIST SP 800-115] NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-115, Technical Guide to Information Security
Testing and Assessment, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 2008,
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[NIST SP 800-160] NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-160, Systems Security Engineering, National
Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 2014,
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[OMB A-76] OMB Circular A-76, Performance of Commercial Activities, Office of Management andBudget, 2003, https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_a076_a76_incl_tech_correction/.

APPENDIX H

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